The Balearic government is seeking powers to continue with the curfew. | Daniel Espinosa

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The Balearic government's request for Balearic High Court authorisation for certain measures after the state of alarm ends - the curfew most obviously - has hit a snag. Three of the five judges considering the request do not believe that it is something on which they can rule. As a majority of the judges believe this to be the case, the government will have to think again.

The court says that "its jurisdiction is the authorisation or judicial ratification of measures adopted in accordance with health legislation that health authorities other than the state consider to be urgent and necessary for public health and which imply the limitation or restriction of fundamental rights".

The court adds that the government council (cabinet) did not approve the measures being requested prior to sending the request for authorisation to the court. "The objective requirement provided for under normal procedure has not been met." The authorisation request has therefore been deemed inadmissible. In essence, the government's document was a kind of consultation on which the court could not rule.

The court's president, Gabriel Fiol, and one other judge, Pablo Delfont, take a different view. Delfont explains that "we are living through a pandemic that puts almost everything at risk". While this does not mean there should be derogation, it does call for "the most effective solutions, starting with public health".

The upshot of all this is that the cabinet will have to meet before Friday, formally approve its measures and then re-present the request.

The Prosecutor's Office has meanwhile given its opinion, believing that the curfew and limitations on the number of people who can meet in a private setting cannot continue without the state of alarm or a law that regulates matters pertaining to fundamental rights.