CONSTITUTIONALITY DURING TIMES OF CRISIS: ANTI-PANDEMIC MEASURES AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE RULE OF LAW IN CROATIA

by | Mar 22, 2021 | DOI 2020 Conf Proc

Ana Horvat VukoviΔ‡ – Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Trg Republike Hrvatske 3, Zagreb, Croatia

Valentino Kuzelj – Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Trg Republike Hrvatske 14, Zagreb, Croatia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ERAZ.2020.59

 

6th International Conference – ERAZ 2020 – KNOWLEDGE BASED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,Β  Online/virtual, May 21, 2020, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Published by:Β Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans – Belgrade, Serbia

Conference partners: Faculty of Economics and Business, Mediterranean University, Montenegro; University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Bulgaria; Faculty of Commercial and Business Studies – Celje, Slovenia; Faculty of Applied Management, Economics and Finance – Belgrade, Serbia

ISSN 2683-5568, ISBN 978-86-80194-33-2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ERAZ.2020

 

Abstract

The Croatian constitution-maker’s dedication to the concept of a social state begets the state’s
duty to care for public health. This duty is especially salient amid the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic. One
would be well-advised to be watchful of the dangers that periods of crisis pose for the viabilityΒ  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  Β  of liberal democracies: in Croatia, protective measures against the COVID-19 disease have been entrusted
to the national Civil Protection Command in an initially illegal way. This was later on retroactively
convalidated by legislative β€œpatchwork” solutions. It is to be expected that the issue of such measures’
constitutionality will in the foreseeable future present itself on the Constitutional Court’s docket. This
paper focuses on one of the most contentious measures – that of a ban on Sunday trade, particularly its
implications for the economic constitutional rights such as the right of ownership and entrepreneurial
freedom. Furthermore, the authors’ analysis of several Constitutional Court’s decisions from the time
of the previous economic crisis will endeavor to anticipate the Court’s decisions in upcoming cases.

Key words

COVID-19, Crisis measures, State of emergency, Right of ownership, Croatian Constitutional Court.

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