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Journal of law and social sciences of the Law Faculty of University J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek = Zeitschrift für Rechts-und Sozialwissenschaften der Fakultät für Rehtswissenschaften der Universität J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek = Journal des sciences juridiq, Vol. 36 No. 3-4, 2020.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.25234/pv/11003

STATE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 THE CASE STUDIES OF CROATIA AND SERBIA

Maja Nastić orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-5545-6318 ; Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Niš, Trg kralja Aleksandra 11, 18000 Niš, Republika Srbija

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Abstract

Given the current pandemic coronavirus, the paper analyzes the state’s response to the dis- ease caused by the virus (COVID-19) from the standpoint of two neighbouring countries i.e. the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia. Special attention was paid to the states’ response to the pandemic from human rights perspective. The research was conducted into the patterns of their “struggle”, especially as regards the human rights restrictions they had opted for within their constitutional framework. The starting point of the paper was that human rights often are the victims of the crises and that they are easily restricted for a longer periods. In this respect, the author deals with possible answers to the questions about the quality and content of human rights, and how the protection of human rights was ensured in these exceptional circumstances. This legal framework was linked to current statistics on the number of COVID-19 cases. Having analyzed the response of the two states, it could be noted that both states have constitutional provisions governing the state of emergency, allowing them the rule of law in these exceptional circumstances. Both constitutions recognize a list of human rights that may be derogated in state of emergency. However, in Croatia, the state of emergency was not introduced, and the human rights were restricted in accordance with the given epidemiological situation. In Serbia, the struggle against COVID-19 took place in state of emergency and was marked by an extremely restrictive regime of human rights, which was partly in conflict with the constitutional order. The constitutional concept of absolute protection of human rights, in their broadest sense, had proved unsustainable in practice.

Keywords

state of emergency; constitution; human rights; derogation; Croatia; Serbia

Hrčak ID:

250009

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/250009

Publication date:

31.12.2020.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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