Judgment in Italy

Ten euros compensation for anti-corona measures

In Italy, plaintiffs receive ten euros in compensation for "unjust" anti-corona measures (symbolic image).(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

A justice of the peace in the northern Italian city of Alessandria has deemed anti-corona measures to be unjust. He has therefore awarded symbolic compensation of ten euros to around 20 plaintiffs.

They had challenged the entire legitimacy of the anti-Covid legislation, including the declared "nationwide state of emergency" on 31 January 2020, saying that they had been forced to behave in an "extortionate manner". The measures would not have had any benefits for containing the virus.

A justice of the peace has now ruled that "the right to health does not take precedence over other fundamental rights" and that the effects of the emergency laws had "disturbing aspects". People had been forced to "vaccinate themselves with experimental or otherwise not finally approved drugs". In states that had not introduced a lockdown, there had been fewer infections.

Italians were "grounded" for two months
The conclusion was that the plaintiffs were entitled to ten euros each for "moral damages". Italy is the first western country to experience a Covid-19 outbreak. As the first state in Europe, the government began to seal off large parts of the Lombardy and Veneto regions in order to contain the pandemic.

On March 9, 2020, then Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte ordered a nationwide lockdown. 59 million Italians had to stay at home for two months. The country's economy came to a standstill, with the exception of a few vital sectors. The measures were eased somewhat from 4 May 2020. They remained in place until the end of 2021.