In many places around the globe such as the United States, Scotland, Switzerland, and Chile, restrictions on worship were found to be a violation of the law in the courts. In New Zealand, a nation that pursued a “zero Covid” policy, the highest court ruled that lockdown affecting religious gatherings were a necessary violation of liberty.
The New Zealand high court had three findings:
(a) The measures in the Order do limit and restrict the applicants’ rights and freedoms under s 15 of the Bill of Rights Act.
(b) The measures were a justified limit on those rights and freedoms, both at introduction and after the Omicron variant was circulating in New Zealand.
(c) The Minister did not act unreasonably by making distinctions in the Order.
In other words, New Zealand ruled that lockdowns were a necessary evil. This stands in contrast to American courts which routinely found in favor of churches like John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church which would receive an $800000 settlement from the government. Additionally, Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal activist organization won a $10.3 million settlement for its clients against jab mandates.
