Curfew to remain in effect until appeal on Friday (update)

The curfew in the Netherlands will remain in effect for now, the Court of Appeal decided on Tuesday evening. Earlier that day, a lower court ruled that the government was wrong to impose a curfew using its emergency powers and that the measure should be lifted immediately.

16 February om 17:00 uur.
Laatst gewijzigd op 16 February 2021
om 22:38 uur.

February 16 at 17:00 PM.
Last modified on February 16, 2021
at 22:38 PM.

Door Yelena Kilina

16 February om 17:00 uur.
Laatst gewijzigd op 16 February 2021
om 22:38 uur.

By Yelena Kilina

February 16 at 17:00 PM.
Last modified on February 16, 2021
at 22:38 PM.

The Court of Appeal said that the government’s interest was greater than that of Viruswaarheid, the anti-lockdown group that brought the plea to end the curfew to court. The curfew will now remain in effect until the appeal on Friday.

The nationwide measure was imposed under an emergency law, meaning the government didn’t need the parliament’s permission. But according to the lower court, there was no acute emergency and therefore no proper legal basis for the curfew.

The government immediately appealed the decision. At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, outgoing prime minister Mark Rutte urged people to stay at home after 9 p.m. even if the court moved forward with scrapping the curfew. The government is currently working on a new law to keep the curfew in place.