Review article
Constitutional Derogations of Human Rights in a State of Emergency – European Experiences in the Covid-19 Pandemic
Biljana Karovska Andonovska
; Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski”, Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
Abstract
In a state of emergency when the safety of citizens usually is seriously endangered, in state constitutions special powers are provided for the state bodies. These special powers are imposed by the need to successfully deal with the threats. In those circumstances the governments impose extraordinary measures for citizens which usually derogate some fundamental human rights. Hence, from a human rights perspective declared state of emergency is a huge challenge because it could pave the way for human rights unjustified restrictions and violations. The explanation and justification from the state officials usually is that this is the way of protection wider public interest. However, because emergency powers could be abused, it is essential to create strict constitutional limits regarding the circumstances, duration and scope of such powers. In this paper we made a comparative overview of the conditions under which a state of emergency could be declared according to constitutions of various European countries. Special focus was placed on the provisions for restriction of human rights in extraordinary situations with review on experiences of European countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords
human rights; derogations; state of emergency; constitutions; COVID-19; European experiences
Hrčak ID:
284640
URI
Publication date:
21.10.2022.
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