Judges determined that the NZDF's internal COVID-19 mandate went against the law
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) is challenging a Court of Appeal decision that found its internal workplace COVID-19 vaccination mandate to be against the law, reported the NZ Herald.
An NZDF spokesperson confirmed to Newstalk ZB+ that an application for leave to appeal had been filed following the court’s February ruling that the vaccination mandate had hampered the right to refuse medical treatment and to exercise religious belief.
A bench of three Court of Appeal judges found a lack of justification in the Defence Force chief’s imposition of the mandate.
“It should have been very clear to the NZDF, following the Yardley decision, that any materially less-flexible response to a failure to be vaccinated would require clear justification”, the judges said in their decision, which indicated that the evidence provided by the NZDF “fell well short of providing justifications for the relevant measures that are sufficient to meet the s 5 NZBORA [New Zealand Bill of Rights] burden.”
After the decision was publicised, lawyer Matthew Hague called for the reinstatement of those who had lost their jobs due to the mandate.
