Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20901/pm.58.3.04
Contemporary Reception of Cicero’s Natural Law Postulate on the Supremacy of Well-Being and Salvation of the People In the Context of States of Emergency Actualized by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tomislav Nedić
orcid.org/0000-0003-4344-8465
; The Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek
Abstract
The work offers an interpretive analysis and reception of Cicero’s claim about the imperative supremacy of welfare and salvation of the people (salus populi suprema lex esto), made in the third book of Cicero’s Laws. This statement is only a piece of the “puzzle” of Cicero’s reflections on government laws, largely focused on the reparation and survival of the Roman Republic, the historical context of which displays many adversities afflicting its integrity. First of all, it is necessary to offer an interpretive overview of Cicero’s claim about the supremacy of welfare and salvation of the people and the Republic in the historical context of the Roman political and legal circumstances, in order to gain a complete insight into the reception of the claim, especially in legal doctrine and practice. The actuality of Cicero’s claim in the form of constitutional provisions (Articles 16, 17 and 101 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia) on states of emergency and crisis has particular relevance against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for some new controversies, as demonstrated by the case study of recent decisions taken by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.
Keywords
Cicero; Salus Populi; Suprema Lex; Constitution; Natural Law; Res Publica; COVID-19
Hrčak ID:
262796
URI
Publication date:
24.9.2021.
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