On 24 March 2023 the Supreme Court ruled that prisoners who where released on parole during the Covid-19 emergency in order to avoid overcrowding of prisons cannot count such period of parole towards the actual time of imprisonment they have been condemned to.
By decision no. T-042 of 23 march 2023, the Constitutional Court ordered the government, represented by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Education, to comply with its previous ruling no. SU-032 of 2022, which required the government to carry out an assessment, at both national and territorial levels, of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on education, including its effects on students (especially children) and teachers.
On 24 March 2023 the Supreme Court of India ordered that all prisoners who were released on parole due to Covid-19 emergency have to surrender themselves to the authorities within 15 days and go to prison.
In September 2021, an Arizona-based company enacted a mandatory covid-19 vaccination policy for all its employees. It also provided an exemption for those objecting to the vaccination for religious or medical reasons on the condition that the employees with vaccination exemptions wear masks and test weekly for covid-19.
Aena, the Spanish airport operator, has lost 90% of its court cases in first instance against shops and restaurants operating in its airports and requiring a renegotiation of their lease contracts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plaintiff, an employee of a federally regulated entity that provides satellite television and smart home services on behalf of another entity, challenged the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy implemented by the latter for installers.
The parent of a child enrolled at DeWitt Public School District filed suit against the latter, the Dewitt Public Schools Board of Education and the DeWitt Public Schools Superintendent, challenging the pandemic-related mask policy implemented at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year in the School District in question.
The applicants, a group of family carers, seek judicial review of an order by the Minister for COVID-19 Response which required family carers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, failing which they would lose public funding for the services they provided to family members.
Two former Biosimilar Account Specialists at Amplity Inc. – a global authority in scientific stakeholder engagement – who were fired for not having complied with the company’s vaccination policy on account of their religious beliefs filed suit alleging inter alia that the employer had discriminated against them on the basis of both their religion and disability.
On 8 March 2023, the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced an accountant to six years of jail after founding him guilty of orchestrating a fraud in order to misappropriate COVID relief funds.
In early 2020, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic2020, the Federal Subsistence Board (“FSB”) received numerous emergency special action requests from subsistence users related to food security concerns.
On 22 March 2023, the Delhi High Court directed the state government to submit to the new Group of Ministers an order to compensate the family of a policeman dead of COVID while on duty during the pandemic.
On 17 March 2023, the High Court of Kampala declared that an Associate Professor of the Mbarara University of Technology is the sole and true owner of a drug used for COVID treatment developed by him, thus granting him also the economic rights to exploit such invention.
A group of undergraduate students at American University – a private university in Washington D.C. – filed suit against their school for partial refund of tuition and fees they paid for the spring 2020 semester. The university promised and sold them on-campus instruction and on-campus experience, described as key reasons for which a student should have chosen to attend American University.
A recent ruling by the Social Chamber of the Catalan High Court recognized a worker an additional compensation for an unfair dismissal beyond the legally established compensation. It is the first time in Spain that such compensation has been granted based on personal and individualized circumstances.
The Administrative Court of Nîmes has ruled in favor of two healthcare workers, a nurse and a childcare assistant, who were suspended without pay from the Carémeau University Hospital in Nîmes for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
On 20 February 2023, the Gauteng Division of the South Africa High Court delivered a judgment finding a business insurer liable for compensation with regard to economic losses caused to insured parties by COVID-19 lockdown.
In May 2020 – when businesses were gradually allowed to reopen following pandemic-related closures – an employee of a salon and spa expressly questioned the safety plans and measures set up by her employer to handle the COVID health risk.
On 13 January 2023, the Provincial Court of Barcelona has increased the child support payments a father, aged 45, had been making for his two young children as he has now fully returned to the workforce after the pandemic.
On 2 March 2023, a court in Singapore fined a man who, during the pandemic, had tried to enter into a food court by showing a screenshot of an app containing vaccination information instead of the real content of the app.
The case originates from the impact of COVID-19, and related governmental measures, on contracts and business interruption.
On 2 March 2023, the Belgian Constitutional Court rejected an appeal to annul the Pandemic Law of 14 August 2021.
The Turkish Constitutional Court has held that fines issued by authorities for violating curfew during the COVID-19 pandemic are unlawful. The Court assessed a fine issued to a man who was found driving his car in May 2020, in violation of the provisions of a Presidential Decree. The fine’s legal ground was found in Law no. 1593 of 1930 (Law on Public Hygiene), whose scope also covered the presidential decree which was directly violated.
A company which owns and operates a shopping mall, and which had stipulated a commercial insurance policy filed suit against its insurer for coverage of losses sustained as a result of shutdown orders issued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It alleged claims of breach of contract and bad faith because the insurer had denied her request for coverage.
During the pandemic, the New York State Unified Court System – which employs more than 15,000 staff members and 3,000 judges – issued a vaccine mandate requiring all its employees to submit proof of having taken the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo regular testing. While administrative and non-judicial employees could be fired if they failed to meet COVID requirements, judges could be referred to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to urge disciplinary action against them.
On 23 February 2023, a court in Singapore sentenced a man to 13 months of jail for creating a scheme to cheat the government and trick it into disbursing COVID-19 relief money both for himself and other people.
On 8 March 2023, the Hague District Court released a preliminary relief judgment in the case of Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging and CNV Connectief against the State of the Netherlands, represented by three ministers. The case concerns a collective action by trade unions representing healthcare workers who were infected with the coronavirus while providing care to COVID-19 patients in 2020 and are now suffering from long-term symptoms known as long-COVID.
On 31 January 2023, the England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has overturned a decision by the Commercial Court and held that the English court does not have jurisdiction to hear business interruption claims under various multi-risk insurance policies issued in the Middle East.
On 21 February 2023, a court in Singapore sentenced a man to two weeks of prison for not wearing masks in two occasions during the pandemic, one inside and outside courts during judicial proceedings and one at a food court in the city. The defendant was previously known for claiming to be an assistant to a famous anti-mask activist. He argued that he was the son of a sultan and therefore he did not accept being governed by law on account of its status.
The heirs of a man who had died after having contracted COVID-19 in a skilled nursing home filed suit for negligence and wrongful death against the facility alleging that it failed: (i) to adequately screen visitors and staff; (ii) to properly isolate patients, (iii) to consistently conduct COVID-19 screenings of patients, and (iv) to timely refer patients to a higher level of care when there was a significant change in condition.
On 9 February 2023, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea from two inmates of the Tihar jail asking for benefits and facilities related to video calling, dietary needs and internet access.
On 28 February 2023 the Yamaguchi District Court sentenced a man to prison (with a suspended sentence) for computer fraud. The defendant was entitled to COVID-19 relief money from his town administration, but due to a mistake of town officials he received ¥46,300,000 instead of ¥100,000.
When they purchased a popular multi-resort ski pass for the 2019/2020 ski season, a number of skiers also stipulated a Ski Pass Preserver insurance policy. Such a policy provided coverage for “Season Pass interruption”, expressly stating that policyholders would have been reimbursed if, inter alia, they were “quarantined”.
An Italian doctor who criticized COVID-19 health measures faced disciplinary action by the Rome Provincial Order of Surgeons. The Order publicly disclosed details of the action being taken against the doctor on TV and in a press release. The doctor filed a complaint with the Italian data protection authority, arguing that his data had been unlawfully processed, thus violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
A claimant brought an action against the Ministry of Health for failure to design a vaccination campaign for children below 3 years of age, requesting his daughter to be administered COVID-19 vaccine.
On 15 February 2023, a Court in Danang (Vietnam) sentenced four South-Korean men for having illegally smuggled South Koreans in Vietnam during the pandemic, while the country’s borders were closed and only a small number of foreign experts and skilled workers was allowed entry.
This project and its database have been made possible with the financial support from the World Health Organization