Restrictions on Human Rights and Freedoms During the Time of Epidemic in Poland
- Institution: University of Gdansk
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1348-174X
- Year of publication: 2020
- Source: Show
- Pages: 17-27
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/ppk.2020.05.01
- PDF: ppk/57/ppk5701.pdf
When in 2020 the World Health Organization announced a COVID-19 contagious disease pandemic, it was clear that governments must take actions to limit the consequences of pandemia. Poland was one of the first to introduce far-reaching measures, limiting freedom of movement and closing an increasing number of business and activities. The Polish Constitution contains potential extraordinary measures, including the provision for declaring a “state of natural disaster”, but the Polish government has refrained from enacting it. Instead, it is based on a “state of epidemic”, which is not provided for in the Constitution as the legal ground for limiting human rights. The purpose of this study is to answer the question whether human rights restrictions introduced during the epidemic have a sufficient legal basis from the point of view of the Polish Constitution and the resulting principles.