Why Spain’s covid-19 lockdown is being labelled as “unconstitutional”

Spain’s highest court has made a massive ruling, labelling the country’s Covid-19 lockdowns as “unconstitutional”

The landmark decision will allow Spanish residents to dispute any fines they were given for breaking stay-at-home restrictions and reclaim any money paid.

Whilst this is a significant decision, the court has also stated that it will not accept lawsuits from individuals or businesses who want to sue the government because of reduced revenue.

This all follows the Spanish government declaring a state of emergency in March 20-20 as coronavirus infections skyrocketed throughout the country and across Europe.

Spain’s Constitutional Court voted six to five that the state of emergency was not sufficient to give the restrictions constitutional backing

During this period, citizens were ordered to stay at home, businesses were closed and only essential services remained in operation.

The court says the government should have declared a state of exception rather than a state of emergency to make the restrictions legal.