Covid 19 - What you need to know - England: Judicial Review of Curfew

The law allows certain actions taken by government to be subject to scrutiny via a mechanism called judicial review.

The process brings the issue before the courts to be considered and one of the questions it allows to be asked is can the government do this?

We understand that the operator GAY, supported by NTIA have instructed barristers at Kings Chambers to start this process in relation to the 10pm curfew which has existed for the last couple of weeks. There is a legal protocol which has to be followed and instructions have been issued to start the “Pre Action Protocol”.

Even on an expedited basis this will take time and if the Judicial Review proceeds we will keep you updated but we suspect many in hospitality will agree with the comments of Michael Kill the chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association:

“The implementation of the 10.00pm curfew and further restrictions on the sector has had a catastrophic impact on business levels, resulting in thousands of businesses making the difficult decision to close the doors, or make staff redundant. The decision to implement a curfew makes no sense and has no published scientific or medical foundation to reduce transmission rates. If anything, it is counterproductive, with thousands leaving hospitality venues at 10.00pm, creating mass gatherings on the street and overcrowding public transport.”