Filenews 25 January 2022
By decision of the President of the District Court of Nicosia dated January 24, 2022, a new interim application of 64 citizens of the Republic was rejected in its entirety, challenging the legality of decrees prohibiting entry into indoor and outdoor areas, without holding a certificate of a complete vaccination scheme.
Characteristically, the Court, accepting the positions of the Attorney General, stressed that the contested measures, on the basis of the relevant Decree of the Minister of Health, are aimed at the protection of citizens in their entirety, which is a supreme duty of the State and is not considered reasonable and possible, because a small number of citizens wish not to observe them, to endanger the health and life of the rest of the population.
In addition, the Court in its Judgment stresses that the potency of the requested decree does not concern solely the safeguarding and protection of the alleged violated rights or interests of the applicants, but has a direct impact on the rights of the entire population, such as the consequences of the non-early detection of Covid-19 cases and the non-tracing of close contacts of confirmed cases, resulting in the uncontrolled spread of the disease to a large part of the population. As the Court characteristically states, "if the requested decree is issued, there is a risk that the disease will remain uncontrollable, with adverse consequences for collective health."
The Court also adds that the current situation requires compliance with the measures, as recommended by international organizations and the group of experts that evaluates the epidemiological data in the Republic, which is why each relevant Decree of the Minister of Health has a short-term effect, so that the reality regarding the evolution or containment of the Covid-19 disease is sometimes taken into account and so that measures are not taken disproportionately to those necessary to contain of the disease.
In conclusion, it is noted that the Court accepted the position of the Attorney General and identified procedural issues of rejection, such as the fact that the applicants were not entitled to appeal jointly and file a popular action.
The Court ordered the applicants to pay the costs of the application.
The Attorney General was represented in the Court by the lawyers Mr. Theano Mavromoustaki, Senior Lawyer of the Republic, Elli Florentzou, Lawyer of the Republic A', Marianna Tsangari, Lawyer of the Republic and Mr. Penelope Charalambous, Lawyer of the Republic.
