MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2020) The High Court of New Zealand found on Wednesday that the first nine days of the lockdown introduced by the authorities amid the COVID-19 pandemic were unlawful.
Last month, Andrew Borrowdale, a lawyer from Wellington, challenged the legality of steps taken in the early stages of the five-week lockdown, including calls by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other officials between March 26 and April 3 urging resident to stay at home. According to the court, an order imposing such restrictions was not passed until April 3, so New Zealanders' rights and freedoms were illegally restricted for those nine days.
"While there is no question that the requirement was a necessary, reasonable and proportionate response to the COVID-19 crisis at the time, the requirement was not prescribed by law and was therefore contrary to s 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act," the ruling read.
Last week, New Zealand registered four new COVID-19 cases for the first time in 102 days, prompting the authorities to impose a quarantine on the country's largest city of Auckland.
The island nation has so far confirmed a total of 1,299 COVID-19 cases, with a death toll of 22.
