• Direct Coronavirus crisis

  • Basque Country The Basque Prosecutor's Office opposes the continuation of the perimeter closure and the curfew

  • Baleares Baleares extends the curfew beyond the state of alarm pending what the courts tell it

The Prosecutor's Office does not share the Government's criteria that the limitation of fundamental rights can continue without the state of alarm decreed by the coronavirus pandemic.

"Based on the foregoing and by way of conclusion, limiting measures of fundamental rights directed at an undetermined group of people under the current health legislation cannot be adopted", the Basque Country Prosecutor's Office emphatically affirms.

It is his response this Wednesday to the intention of the Basque Government to continue with the perimeter confinement, the curfew and the limitation of attendees to meetings.

The Balearic Prosecutor's Office also expressed its opposition to a generic limitation of rights as of next Sunday.

The intention of the Executive chaired by the socialist

Francina Armengol

is to extend the restrictions for another two weeks, until May 23.

"It is not appropriate to authorize the measures that limit the movement of people at night, nor do they refer to family reunions and gatherings in private spaces, as they lack legal coverage," affirms the Prosecutor's Office.

"Measures inherent to exceptional states"

The Government of Pedro Sánchez has maintained for weeks that health regulations allow to limit movements as has been done.

That it is possible to continue with the perimeter confinements and even - although at this point more doubts have arisen - the curfew.

On Tuesday, after the Council of Ministers, Vice President Carmen Calvo insisted that communities can "justify, argue and propose to the courts situations such as curfew, confinement or any circumstance that limits fundamental rights."

This thesis contrasts with the emphaticness of the Basque Country Prosecutor's Office: "They are measures typical of exceptional states."

His writing and that of the Balearic Islands consider, as some regional courts have done before, that the Law of Special Measures in Public Health Matters and the General Health Law are too imprecise to cover a limitation of rights not only to infected or close contacts, but to undetermined populations.

The arguments of the Prosecutor's Office

The Attorney General's Office affirmed this Wednesday that, although the line of action went in that direction, there was no uniform criterion to reject the measures in all cases, and that the solution could depend in each case on elements such as the wording given to the requests of the autonomous governments.

Yes, the Public Ministry agreed that all responses to requests for limitation of rights be sent before to the Prosecutor of the Contentious Chamber,

Pedro Crespo

, in order to coordinate them.

The position of the Prosecutor's Office does not imply that the restrictions cannot be approved.

The higher courts can authorize or block them and their decision, in accordance with the legal reform that was published this Wednesday in the BOE, may be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Prosecutor's Office expects that next week the first appeals will be on the table of the High Court.

Precisely, this Wednesday the Supreme was launched urgently to adjust to the surprise reform of the Government that grants it the last word and of which no magistrate claims to have had prior notice or to have been consulted.

Criticism of the judges

The president of the Contentious Chamber,

César Tolosa

, agreed that the Fourth Section, which usually resolves health matters, is the one that addresses the resources.

In these cases, Tolosa will preside over the court.

In addition, it was agreed to request a report from the Technical Office on how to apply the new resource.

And "a contact channel" was opened with the presidents of the Contentious Chambers of the Supreme Court to "coordinate compliance with the new, shorter deadlines set by the reform to resolve these appeals."

The decision to leave the limitations in the hands of the judges - be it the Supreme Court or the Supreme Court - has met with much criticism among the judges.

Proof of this is the statement from the Francisco de Vitoria Judicial Association: "Once again, the judges are charged with the management of a serious national problem, such as the pandemic, judicializing public life and subverting the natural constitutional order."

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Basque Country

  • Balearics

  • Justice

  • Coronavirus

  • State of alarm

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