Constitutional Court dismisses DRMA COVID-19 restriction challenge filed by religious group

Religious organisation Freedom Come Ministries was not successful today to get declarations from the Constitutional Court that it was unconstitutional for the Government to place restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic under the Disaster Risk Management Act.

The group and a director of the organisation Reverend Jeffrey Shuttleworth, of Tarrant Baptist Church, had asked the Constitutional Court to find that the Government used the wrong mechanism to implement COVID-19 laws.

The group had asked the court to declare the Disaster Risk Management Act of 2015 null and void and of no legal effect.

One of its contentions was that the act prevented the religious organisation from carrying out daily activities and it should be compensated by the Government.

It stated in the claim filed in the Supreme Court in 2021 that it was not able to cater to the poor with food and other commodities because of the restrictions.

It was submitted that the pandemic restrictions should have been implemented under the Public Health Act or under section 20 of the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court today ruled that the application was dismissed and said further that the Attorney General was a proper party in the matter.

The Attorney General was the defendant and attorneys-at-laws from the department had opposed the declarations being sought.

Attorney-at-law Hugh Wildman, who represented the group, said today that steps were being taken to appeal the ruling.

- Barbara Gayle

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