The Court proceeded to in-camera part of the plenary session in the case on the constitutionality of the restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens established for the quarantine period
On July 2, the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at its plenary session in the form of written proceedings considered the case on the constitutional petition of the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On establishing quarantine to prevent the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19, caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and stages of mitigation of anti-epidemic measures", the provisions of Articles 29.1, 29.3 of the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020", Section 11.2.9 "Final Provisions" of the Law of Ukraine "On amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2020".
During the plenary session, the information of the Judge-Rapporteur in the case Petro Filiuk on the content of the constitutional petition and the grounds for initiating the constitutional proceedings in the case was heard.
According to the Judge-Rapporteur, the Supreme Court considers that the disputed provisions of the regulations prohibit for the quarantine period the holding of mass events (cultural, entertainment, sports, social, religious, advertising and others), the work of catering establishments (restaurants, cafes, etc.), shopping and entertainment centers, the implementation of regular and irregular transportation of passengers by road in urban, suburban, intercity, intra-regional and interregional communication, carrying out of planned measures on hospitalisation by health care institutions, as well as mandatory self-isolation of persons who have reached 60 years old. In addition, the subject of the right to constitutional petition notes that the disputed provisions of the laws of Ukraine set the maximum amount of remuneration of employees, servants and officials of public institutions, as well as stopped the indisputable write-off of state budget and local budgets based on court decisions.
The author of the petition believes that the disputed provisions of regulations for the period of quarantine establish disproportionate restrictions on the right to freedom of movement, the right to peaceful assembly, the right to entrepreneurial activity, the right to access medical care. The Supreme Court also sees a disproportionate restriction on the level of financial security of public institutions employees, which, in the opinion of the Supreme Court, violates the principle of the rule of law, guarantees of the independence of judges.
In addition, the Judge-Rapporteur said that in order to ensure a full and objective consideration of this case and the adoption of a reasoned decision by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, inquiries were sent to public authorities, research institutions and scholars to express their legal positions on issues raised in the constitutional petition. He also noted that an information and analytical report on the practice of the bodies of constitutional jurisdiction of foreign countries regarding quarantine measures in connection with the spread of acute respiratory disease COVID-19 and analysis of foreign legislation on reducing the salaries of employees of public institutions for the period of quarantine measures introduction had been attached to the case files.
The Constitutional Court upheld the motion of the participant in the constitutional proceedings - the Head of the Department of Analytical and Legal Work of the Supreme Court Rasim Babanly - to attach additional materials to the case.
The Court completed the examination of the case files in the public part of the plenary session and proceeded to the in-camera part for a decision.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Oleksandr Tupytskyi chaired the plenary session.
Representatives of the mass media and other citizens of Ukraine were also present at the plenary session of the Grand Chamber of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
The public part of the plenary session is available on the official website of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine through the following link: http://ccu.gov.ua/kategoriya/2020.
