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The health authorities have no legal power or constitutional basis to decree the prophylactic isolation, commonly known as mandatory quarantine, of people without Portugal being in a state of siege or emergency and without the judiciary or Parliament supporting the decision.
The confirmation was given by the Lisbon Court of Appeal, which, according to the Jornal de Notícias, has thus positioned itself in the evaluation of a judicial appeal filed by the Regional Health Authority (ARS) of the Azores.
When evaluating the appeal, justices Margarida Ramos de Almeida and Ana Paramés write that “in view of the Constitution and the law, Health authorities do not have the power or the legitimacy to deprive anyone of their freedom. – although under the label of lockdownSays the JN.
The placement of people in prophylactic isolation “can only be determined or validated by judicial authority“. In order to decree the quarantine and the deprivation of the freedom of movement of citizens, the Health Authorities must have the support “of the law – of the Assembly of the Republic -, in the strict scope of declaration of state of emergency or siege“. Without this, one will be “proceeding to a illegal detention“.
The position of the Court of Appeal was expressed as a result of a judicial dispute in the Azores, that is, as a result of an appeal filed by the ARS of the Azores. The appeal challenged the acceptance of a request for immediate releasehabeas corpus) of German tourists who were in forced quarantine by decision of the health authorities, without having had a positive diagnostic test for infection by the new coronavirus. The request was accepted at the time and citizens in forced quarantine were able to get out of prophylactic isolation. The local health authority decided to appeal, but to no avail.
The case had been advanced in October by the Observer, who reported that the “mandatory quarantines” issued in the Azores by the health authorities were being investigated by the Public Ministry.
Public Ministry investigates mandatory quarantines in the Azores: people locked in hotels and with the police at the door
This specific case involved four German tourists who landed in the Azores with a negative diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 infection (performed within the previous 72 hours). The tourists in question had planned a vacation in São Miguel. One of them ended up testing positive, but the three remaining members of the group received a quarantine order (14 days, from August 8 to 22) by the ARS of the Azores. The request for the immediate release of tourists ended up being presented in court and was accepted.
