Pandemijos iššūkiai žmogaus teisėms ir laisvėms
Date Issued |
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2020 |
tumo dėl to, kad galimybė taikyti tokius ribojimus nebuvo numatyta tiriamų nutarimų metu galiojusiuose įstatymuose, kiti pernelyg suvaržė ar netgi paneigė atitinkamą žmogaus teisę. Užklupus COVID-19 pandemijai paaiškėjo, kad galiojantis teisinis reguliavimas nėra pakankamas tokiai situacijai valdyti, juo nustatyti teisiniai instrumentai tobulintini, inter alia numatant aiškius kriterijus, kada, kiek laiko ir kokia apimtimi gali būti taikomos konkrečios žmogaus teises ir laisves ribojančios priemonės, taip pat reikiamais atvejais turi būti numatyta, kad valstybė teisingai atlygins dėl tokių priemonių taikymo patirtus praradimus.
The article seeks to analyse whether the resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania imposing restrictive measures for containing the spread of COVID-19 were legitimate, justified and in line with the requirements steaming from the Constitution. For this purpose the limitation of freedom of movement, freedom of economic activities and the right to receive appropriate health care treatment introduced during the lockdown in spring of 2020 are examined. After analysing relevant official constitutional doctrine, the conclusion is drawn that despite the fact that all those restrictions were adopted while seeking to ensure the legitimate and constitutional aims – the protection of public health and the proper functioning of health care institutions, but some of the restrictions imposed by the governmental resolutions were not legitimate as they lacked legal ground, the other ones could be regarded as violating the principle of proportionality and even denying the very essence of the appropriate human right or freedom itself. The COVID-19 pandemic made clear that the existing legal regulation does not provide for the sufficient legal basis for the management of such an extreme situation, therefore the legal instruments should be improved, inter alia by determining precise criteria of a set of circumstances, the extent and timing for the application of concrete restrictive measures. It should be noted as well that the legislator should provide that in particular cases the state has the obligation to fairly compensate the losses incurred as a result of application of restrictive measures.