The Fourth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) has authorised the extension of the requirement of the so-called Covid Passport to include all hospitality venues, irrespective of capacity, and including on terraces, as well as other establishments such as gyms or cinemas, circuses, sports facilities, and party venues where drinks or food are consumed.
These provisions are contained in the resolution of the Conselleria de Sanidad Universal dated December 21 and will come into effect at 00:00 hours on the day following their publication in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV).
The Court considers that the extension of the measure in those spaces where it was already mandatory to present the Covid certificate is justified by the evolution of the pandemic.
Likewise, its expansion to new establishments and spaces is “suitable, necessary and weighted or balanced, insofar as it derives more benefits or advantages for the general interest than damages to other goods or values in conflict,” the Chamber states.
Said weighting of conflicting interests has already been examined by the Supreme Court, which has described the requirement of the Covid Passport as a “tenuous” limitation of certain fundamental rights that, when faced with the “powerful presence” of others such as life or health protection “provides an objective and reasonable justification for its adoption.”
