Healthcare as the State’s Responsibility and Freedom of Conscience and Belief during the First Stage of the Pandemic

Abstract

Some time has passed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, which affords an opportunity to reflect on the condition of the law-making process in Poland. The article attempts to assess the legislation made during the first stage of the epidemic, with special emphasis on restrictions pertaining to the freedom of conscience and belief. The procedure of circumscribing basic human rights and freedoms is discussed in detail, pointing out the necessity to restrict the said freedoms only through a legislative act. The text also addresses sanctions levied on citizens for their failure to comply with epidemic regulations. By sharing specific examples, the author presents an array of behaviours that seem difficult to justify from the perspective of the formal requirements of law-making. Extraordinary conditions in which the state operated at that time only partially justify the absence of proper legal mechanisms. For this reason, it seems imperative to reflect on how to design a proper response to similar threats in the future. It should enable an even distribution of restrictions of civil rights in extreme circumstances.