Dagelijks archief: maart 17, 2021

The Dutch Judicial Review of the Curfew: Normalised and Entrenched Emergencies

In January 2021, a curfew was adopted in the Netherlands, prohibiting people from going outside between 21:00 and 04:30. The curfew affects a range of human rights, including, inter alia, the freedom of movement, the right to private and family life and the freedom of assembly. The legality and necessity of this measure were challenged before the Dutch courts by a local foundation. On 16 February, the Hague Regional Court (Rechtbank) found that the curfew could not be based on the law that was invoked by the Government and that such a measure was unnecessary. In its judgment of 26 February, the Court of Appeal (Gerechtshof) rejected the findings of the Hague Regional Court and ruled in favour of the Government. This blog argues that the courts’ findings on the legality and necessity of the curfew were largely based on the (mis)conception of what an emergency means, and what form and intensity of judicial review is required in such situations. In doing so, however, the Dutch courts omitted the crucial question regarding the use of emergency measures in the situation of normalised and entrenched emergencies. Lees verder