A group of claimants brought an action against the government of Porto Rico, arguing that all the measures adopted to avert the spread of the pandemic were ultra vires. In particular, the claimants submitted that the government had acted outside of the scope of the powers expressly granted by the Constitution since the executive power is not entitled to adopt measures that directly affect the full enjoyment of rights and freedoms by the population.
In the previous instance, the Court of Appeals dismissed the arguments related to the excess of power but found that the, while being entitled to adopt measures to avert the spread of the pandemic, the government had failed to comply with the applicable statutory requirements.
By decision of 16 February 2022, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico overturned the decision by the Court of Appeals and found that all restrictive measures enacted to protect the population from COVID-19, including such measures that imposed restrictions on the constitutional rights and freedoms of the population – were lawful. The full judgment is not published yet.
