The obligation to strip naked at a nudist resort in Spain, Supreme Court considered a discriminatory measure, therefore decided the following: the resort to hire security guards who must monitor the observance of the rights of those who do not want to be naked and pay monetary compensation to the victims.
As reported by The Washington Post, the resort’s intolerable policy of mandatory nudity for all indiscriminate tourists eventually brought the resort to litigation. We are talking about Natura World apartments in the city of Vera in the province of Almeria, which, as stated on their official website, is located on the seafront in the most visited naturist/nudist area in Spain. It was also noted that guests have direct access to the nude beach, which has been popular with holidaymakers since 1979. Recall that earlier the Association of Apart-Hotels adopted the rules for mandatory exposure of tourists located on the complex’s territory.
However, not all holidaymakers enjoy such a commitment. The dissatisfied appealed to the Supreme Court of Spain and stated that the mandatory nudity in a public place is discriminatory, despite the local policy of hotels. As a result, on February 16, Spain’s Supreme Court overturned the decision of two lower courts and ruled in favor of the tourist plaintiffs, and ruled that forced nudity in public places is a violation of people’s fundamental rights. Guards should ensure that tourists if they enter, walk freely in swimsuits and swimming shorts.
“A mere reading of the minutes of the meeting of the society clearly shows that the said charter was not approved and that the decision made in the course of the previous proceedings did not concern this issue,” such a decision was made by the Supreme Court.
On this basis, it was concluded that a mandatory nudity requirement would discriminate against guests who wish to remain clothed. In addition, the obligation previously introduced by the management of the complex violates freedom of movement and the right to privacy in public places. Nudity is a “legitimate personal choice” “but its practice cannot be claimed without justification,” the court document also said.
The court ordered the association to pay each of the plaintiffs 1,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage. Marie Carmen Jiménez, one of those forced to strip against her will, told the Spanish newspaper El País:
“From day one, we were told that everyone can walk as they please, and there was never any talk about the fact that it is mandatory to swim naked. It’s terrible that we had to suffer. It’s very disappointing when you are not allowed into the pool, access to which you paid for,” the girl was outraged by the rules of the complex.
Reference: The Spanish city of Vera in the province of Almeria is one of the few places where tourists without complexes can be completely naked since most of the beach is given over to a large nudist hotel. Popular since 1979, the two-kilometer nudist beach of Vera Playa has remained so since then. While elsewhere in Spain many beaches have a “no swimwear day” in mid-July, the large beach in Vera allows you to swim, sunbathe, and go to beach bars and restaurants naked 365 days a year. The largest nudist beach holds the world record. So, in 2013, a mass collective nudist swim took place here with 729 naked swimmers. Then the action was supported even by local authorities.