John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty lose Covid laws challenge

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

John Waters and Gemma O'Doherty lost their High Court challenge to Covid-19 laws, with the decision reported on 13 May 2020. Mr Justice Charles Meenan refused their application for permission to bring a judicial review after finding they had not produced facts capable of supporting the orders sought.

The challenge concerned emergency legislation, statutory instruments and changes to tenancy and mental health laws introduced during the pandemic. The ruling records that the applicants had standing in relation to some issues, but failed to establish an arguable case on the constitutional claims.

The judge also rejected their challenge to the way physical hearings were conducted at the Four Courts in Dublin under social-distancing rules. He invited written submissions on the orders to be made, including the question of costs.