The Issue of «Anti-COVID» Legal Restrictions in the Decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The paper deals with the problems related to the legal nature, regulation and procedure for the implementation of legal restrictions in the Russian Federation under the conditions of the high alert regime aimed to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-2019). The corresponding legal restrictions were introduced in spring 2020 by the regulatory legal acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the absence of rules in the federal legislation at that time regulating in detail the limits of the respective powers of regional authorities. The paper provides the content of the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation concerning the issues of competence of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to establish such legal restrictions, constitutional criteria for assessing their admissibility and proportionality. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of restrictions imposed on the constitutional freedom of movement, which, as the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation pointed out, are not identical with the restriction of personal freedom. The author elucidates the purpose of the introduced temporary legal restrictions, which is to ensure self-organization of the society in the event of a common threat.