New coronavirus regulations justified, says legal expert

Strict regulations imposed on Wednesday to combat the Covid-19 outbreak would last as long as the virus was a threat, a legal expert said yesterday.

The measures put in place were regulations, not legislation, and were unlikely to be declared unconstitutional, constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos said.

Rights could be limited, such as the right to gatherings and association as long as it complied with the limitation clause.

“The regulations are limiting, yes, but it is almost certainly justifiable in terms of the limitation clause.”

Police could arrest those who shared false information or fake news on Covid-19, but this charge would fall under fraud offences, De Vos said.

“This is basically a specific kind of fraud,” said De Vos. “Provisions of the crime of fraud say if you are going to defraud someone and risk their lives in the process, it is a criminal offence.

“But this still requires you to show that you had intentions to do so.

“It is not very different from what the criminal law already says – it’s just more specific now.”

These regulations won’t last forever and would disappear, along with the virus, he said.

“The provisions can only be applicable for as long as the declaration of the disaster continues… It is not forever.

“A national disaster is an exceptional thing that can be declared for as long as the disaster happens.

“The regulations will collapse once the disaster ends.”

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