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Constitutional possibilities of limiting human and civil rights and freedoms in states of emergency versus regulations established in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is to present in abbreviated form the possibility of limiting the freedoms as well as human and citizen rights in states of emergency according to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland published in 1997, to compare the possibilities with the solutions established in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic and finally to assess the constitutionality of these regulations.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The arguments are based on content analysis of constitutional solutions which give the possibility to limit citizens’ rights and freedoms. It also analyses and legally evaluates the regulations adopted by the government during the pandemic.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The considerations have a twofold structure – the first part presents constitutional possibilities of limiting rights and freedoms in states of emergency based on the Constitution and subject literature. The second part discusses the restrictions on rights and freedoms established in Poland during the pandemic, with an attempt to critically analyse them in terms of compatibility with the Constitution.
RESEARCH RESULTS: Although the Polish Constitution precisely defines the rules and possibilities of limiting the rights and freedoms in states of emergency, its regulations have not been applied in practice. Normative acts which were introducing restrictions during the pandemic raise very serious reservations from the point of view of their constitutionality.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Laws limiting rights and freedoms during the pandemic not only break the rules of the legal system and increase legislative chaos but also undermine citizens’ trust in the law. A lot of people have been fined for not respecting unconstitutional restrictions which, as a result, might lead to a series of claims for damages against the state. Polish post-pandemic society may no longer be as sure of the inviolability of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Keywords
Constitution ; Pandemic ; limiting rights and freedoms ; states of emergency
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