Lawyers Audrey Despontin and Audrey Lackner, acting on behalf of the non-profit organisation Notre Bon Droit, submitted a summary procedure to the Court of First Instance in Brussels on Tuesday in order to suspend the extension of the pandemic law.
They are asking the Belgian state to take all necessary measures to stop the extension within 24 hours under penalty of a fine of €5,000 per day of delay, La Libre reports.
The Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs approved the extension of the pandemic law last week by another three months until 28 April. The plenary chamber is expected to do so in its turn on Thursday.
Health crisis ‘no longer relevant’
According to the lawyers of the non-profit association, the health crisis that made it possible to activate the pandemic law is no longer relevant.
“With the arrival of the new coronavirus, our government faced unprecedented challenges and took measures to combat the spread of the virus,” reads a statement from Notre Bon Droit.
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“These protective measures should not result in inhuman or degrading treatment, and should guarantee freedom of expression and opinion, including the right to be informed and to be able to disseminate information. Our human and fundamental rights were not respected for one year, under the pretext of an epidemic with a relatively low mortality rate.”
They say the Belgian government, along with the European Union, is using pandemic laws to increase their use of and access to citizens’ personal data, for example through the use of the Covid Safe Ticket (CST).
The opening hearing will take place on Friday, 11 February.
