Court orders Dutch government to scrap coronavirus curfew

A Dutch court ordered the government on Tuesday to immediately scrap the night-time curfew imposed to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, ruling that it lacks any proper legal basis.

The curfew, the first in the Netherlands since World War Two, sparked several days of riots by anti-lockdown protesters when it was initially introduced on Jan. 23. "The curfew is based on a law for emergency situations, where there is no time for debate with parliament", the court in The Hague said.

"There was no such pressing need in this case. Far reaching measures such as these need to be based on proper laws." The court said the government had failed to make it clear why the curfew was absolutely necessary at this stage of the pandemic, as the infection rate in the Netherlands was already dropping before the measure went into effect.

The curfew, which allows only people with a pressing need to be outdoors between 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m., was extended last week until at least March 3. A spokeswoman for the Justice Ministry said it would need to study the court's ruling.

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