Judge in Spain’s Madrid Annuls Latest Law That Bans Smoking on the Street Without Social Distancing

IN a shocking turn of events, a judge the Community of Madrid, which has one of the worst rebound rates in terms of coronavirus infections has annulled a recently adopted security measure. A judge in Spain’s Madrid has annulled the latest security measure which bans smoking on the streets if social distancing cannot be upheld.

Not only this, the judge of the Court of the Contentious-administrative number 2 of Madrid, Alfonso Villagómez Cebriá, has also annulled the decree which prohibits eating and drinking on public transport, and many more. Cebria argues that these types of regional regulations are unapplicable when the Ministry of Health has not published the order in the Official State Gazette.

This lack of legal reinforcement makes the law both “null and void” claims the judge. Furthermore, he contends that these types of laws which limit fundamental rights cannot be forcibly applied unless there is a state of alarm. Consequently, the judge has suspended its application, as the laws lack ratification.

This is rather worrying on a regional scale as the number of coronavirus cases are rapidly increasing in the capital, at a much faster rate than in Catalonia or Aragon, two other badly affected areas. These measures have been adopted in order to mitigate the risk of transmission amongst the population. Therefore, it has caused concern that a judge in the area has chosen to annul these latest measures.