The Hague ruled today that the Dutch night time curfew should be lifted immediately because it is, the court ruled, ‘a far-reaching violation of the right to freedom of movement and privacy.’
Significantly, the judge stated that the situation did not meet the standard of “special urgency” needed to bypass the usual legislative process and that the government’s use of the “extraordinary powers of civil authority” act was “not legitimate’ adding that it indirectly curtails the rights of freedom of assembly and demonstration.
“The curfew is based on a law for emergency situations, where there is no time for debate with parliament,” the court said in its ruling. “There was no such pressing need in this case. Far-reaching measures such as these need to be based on proper laws.”
However, the curfew will remain until an appeal is heard. It has been in place from 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. since Jan. 23, with the Dutch government extending it until March 3 at least.
Anti-lockdown riots in the Netherlands these past couple of weeks show the strength of feeling in the country. These events gained no traction in the corporate news media and the court ruling today also failed to interest news editors.
Alison Banville is co-editor of BSNews
