Constitutional Court
31 May 2023
No KT49-A-N5/2023
Facts
Three applicants applied to the Constitutional Court with individual constitutional complaints. During the COVID-19 pandemic, close contact between individuals in closed spaces was limited by the Government's decision, which is what the applicants questioned.
Complaint
The applicants questioned the provision of the Government's decision "On Promulgation of Quarantine in the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania", which prohibits close contact between more than 5 persons in closed spaces, and whether it unreasonably restricts the freedom of movement.
Court‘s ruling
The court stated that when a special situation arises in the state, determined by the spread of human infectious diseases in society, which threatens human health and life, the legislator can establish restrictive measures aimed at preventing the spread of diseases.
The Constitution allows for the establishment of such legal regulation, according to which the measures established in the law for the control of communicable diseases of humans can be detailed in sub-statutory legal acts, in which the extent and duration of the application of specific selected measures are determined.
The court stated that the provision of the Government's decision, which prohibited close contact between more than 5 persons in closed spaces, did not contradict the Constitution.