Vaccination requirement?

Recently, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in the case 'Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic'. An article about this was written by NU.nl. This article, whose title certainly attracts attention but unfortunately does not provide sufficient information, gives the impression that, partly due to this decision by the ECHR, a vaccination requirement may simply be introduced. That is not the case.

The ECHR has decided, among other things, that the Czech Republic was allowed to introduce mandatory vaccination. The question arises whether this ruling can also have the same consequences for Curaçao or other countries in the current fight against Covid-19.

Vavřička and Others v. the Czech Republic
First, about the case. This case concerns a group of parents who disagreed with a vaccination requirement for admitting children to a nursery school. Due to the refusal to comply with the statutory vaccination requirement for children, some children were excluded from the school and one parent was even fined because her child was not vaccinated. The parents considered that this statutory vaccination requirement would conflict with the right to respect for private and family life. The International Court did not agree with the parents. Taking into account the circumstances that children are refused admission to nursery schools if they are not vaccinated, the Court ruled that the vaccination requirement for children was legitimate.

In our view, there is a difference between the permitted vaccination obligation in this case and the vaccination in connection with Covid-19. First of all, the Czech case concerns the health and development of children. A State must ensure the health and well-being of minor children, taking into account international treaties and national legislation. In addition, the child vaccinations in question concern protection against 10 different infectious diseases that have existed for years and for which various studies have been conducted for years into the health consequences and effectiveness of the vaccinations.

As regards compulsory vaccination in general, the International Court rules on a number of conditions that States must meet before they may introduce a legal vaccination requirement. For example, the necessary legal protection and a compensation system must be established in the event that a vaccinated citizen suffers damage as a result of the vaccination. The State must also first take less far-reaching measures to guarantee the health and well-being of the population before introducing a legal vaccination requirement.

Fundamental rights are fundamental rights that may not simply be violated. However, this does not mean that fundamental rights are inviolable. Just look at the recent introduction of the Emergency Act in Curaçao. In the interest of containing and tackling an emergency situation, fundamental rights can indeed be set aside. This also applies to the introduction of compulsory vaccination, if this measure is necessary to protect public health. Curaçao is still a long way from that. At the moment, our island does not meet the conditions set by the International Court for introducing a legal vaccination requirement. Moreover, it has been decided for Curaçao to first test whether we can achieve herd immunity by introducing vaccination voluntarily. In our opinion, it will therefore take some time before a vaccination requirement can be introduced here in the country.