Venice Commission - Observatory on emergency situations
www.venice.coe.int
Disclaimer: this information was gathered by the Secretariat of the Venice Commission on the basis of contributions by the members of the Venice Commission, and complemented with information available from various open sources (academic articles, legal blogs, official information web-sites etc.).
Every effort was made to provide accurate and up-to-date information. For further details please visit our page on COVID-19 and emergency measures taken by the member States: https://www.venice.coe.int/WebForms/pages/?p=02_EmergencyPowersObservatory&lang=EN
4. Was a state of emergency declared in your country due to the Covid-19 pandemic? By what authority and for how long?
Pursuant to Article 174 of the Constitution, in order to prevent or eliminate the consequences of a natural disaster or technological accident, the Council of Ministers may decide, for a period not exceeding 30 days, the state of natural disaster in a part or in the entire territory of the state. The extension (but not the original declartion) of the state of natural disaster can only be done with the consent of the Assembly (Albanian Parliament).
Yes, the State of Emergency was declared by the Decree of the Government on 16 March 2020 first for the duration of 30 days, and was subsequently prolonged until July 15 (Decree of the Government of Armenia N 298-Ն, see for the Armenian version here)
A state of emergency was not declared in Austria, and the Constitution does not provide for such a declaration (see Q1 about the extraordinary powers of the Government in cases where Parliament cannot meet).
No, a state of emergency was not declared in Azerbaijan due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A state of emergency has not been declared. The Constitution does not provide for the possibility of doing so. The situation was however considered to be sufficiently serious to justify the granting of special powers to the King (federal government), on the basis of article 105 of the Constitution, and to several governments of the federated entities, on the basis of the article 78 of the special law (see Q2)
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a number of decisions were passed at various levels of government with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Assembly acting on motion of the Council of Ministers, on the grounds of Art. 84, item 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and in connection with the growing pandemic of COVID-19 decided to declare a state of emergency on the entire territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, as of 13 March, 2020m and until to 13 April, 2020.
The Quarantine Law od 1932 empowers the governor (i.e. now the government) to declare an area as an infected area and therefore to adopt measures necessary to tackle the public health emergency.
The Government of the Czech Republic declared the state of emergency (nouzový stav), i.e. the second type of the state of emergency known in the legal order, by its Decision (usnesení) No. 194 issued on 12 March 2020. The state of emergency was declared by virtue of Articles 5-6 of the Constitutional Law on the Security of the Czech Republic for a period of 30 days, effective as of 12 March 2 pm. On 7 April 2020, the Chamber of Deputies approved of the extension of the state of emergency till 20 April 2020 (Decision 1012). On 28 April, the Chamber further extended it till 17 May (Decision 1105). On 17 May 2020, the state of emergency ended.
No state of emergency was declared, since the Danish legal order does not provide for a special constitutional regime of an emergency situation. Instead, a number of initiatives were announced such as partial lockdown of the public sector, complete lockdown of restaurants and cafes etc., prohibition against the assembling of a certain number of persons in one place etc. These initiatives were announced by the government (the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health). Some initiatives were already provided for in legislation while others had to be implemented by legislation adopted in a very speedy procedure, in particular the amendments to the "Law on measures against contagious or other transferable diseases". A number of bills were processed and adopted within a single day.
Yes (but not under the Constitution that does not regulate the state of emergency other than the state of siege - see Q1).
On 27 March 2020, the Bundestag identified an epidemic situation of national significance with the amendment to the federal Infection Protection Act (§ 5 I IfSG).
The Government, acting under Article 53 Paragraph (1) of the FL, and having regard toParagraphs 2 and 3, declared a state of danger in the entire territory of Hungary, in relation to a massive disease outbreak. The Government Decree 40/2020 (11 March) on the declaration of state of danger entered into force at 3 p.m. on the day of its promulgation (for the English text click here).
There was no declaration of a state of emergency. The two Acts of 2020 referred to at Q3 indicated in their preambular provisions that there is currently an emergency. This explains the legal and constitutional context for the exceptional provisions and restrictions, but the references to an emergency do not constitute a declaration of a state of emergency giving rise to new legal powers.
It was declared on 31 January 2020 by the executive, and was intended to endure for six months (until 31 July 2020) - click here
IDCPA and other general laws are already in place to combat the spread of COVID-19 (see Q3). Currently, the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea can be sufficiently controlled by these general laws. Therefore, there was no need for the President to exercise of exceptional legislative power under Article 76 of the Constitution (see Q1).
The state of emergency was introduced by presidential decrees No. 55, 56, 57 dated on 24 March 2020, and No. 72 dated on 14 April 2020, in separate territories. It was done with reference to a rapid increase in the number of cases of coronavirus infection, and in accordance with article 64, paragraph 9, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, articles 3, 4 and 7 of the Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On the state of emergency", in order to protect the life and health of citizens and their safety and public order, with a view to preventing the spread of coronavirus infection to other territories of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The state of emergency was not declared in Lichtenstein, since this mechanism is not provided by the Constitution (see Q1).
The state of emergency, as provided for under the Constitution and specified in the Law on the State of Emergency, was not declared in Lithuania due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the relevant constitutional provisions and the Law on the State of Emergency were not applicable when decisions were taken in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Non, the state of emergency was not declared, and the emergency powers provided by Article 29 of the Constitution were not used.
There is no specific legislation in Monaco relating to the state of health emergency related to the pandemic. Nevertheless, a number of departmental decisions have been taken in the context of a health emergency.
Yes, by the Head of Government by decree of 24 March 2020 on the basis of the decree law of 23 March (law N°23.20 ratifying the decree law N°2.20. 292 of 28 rejeb 1441, of 23 March 2020, enacting special provisions for the state of health emergency and the measures of its declaration (BO n°6887) - the first time for one month, then extended four times (from 24 March until 20 April, then until 20 May, then until 10 June, then until 10 July, then until 10 August), except that in the last two extensions, the easing of restrictive measures is at the discretion of the representatives of the local administration.
No, the concept “state of emergency” does not exist in Norwegian constitutional law (but see Q1 for the unwritten rule of necessity). These matters are regulated by ordinary legislation. This legislation, however, gives extensive powers to the Government - for example, under the 1994 Act relating to control of communicable diseases, the government is allowed adopt legislative measures supplementing the act.
On March 16th, a state of emergency was declared by President of the Republic Martin Vizcarra, by Supreme Decree Nº 044-2020-PCM, “Decreto Supremo que declara Estado de Emergencia Nacional por las graves circunstancias que afectan la vida de la Nación a consecuencia del brote del COVID-19”. This initial declaration was for two weeks. However, the state of emergency —including quarantine— has been extended five times. According to its last extension, declared by Supreme Decree Nº 094-2020-PCM, of May 23th, it will end next June 30th. So, it will last a total of fifteen weeks and two days.
Some original measures were taken by the executive on the basis of the legislation on health risks (see Q3) or by virtue of the Government's decree-laws (click here for the March 2020 Decree Law, in Portuguese.
Article 1, paragraph 1, of Law-Decree 28 February 2020 n. 35 entrusted the Secretary of State for Health and
The State of emergency due to the COVID-19 crisis was declared on 15 March 202. As the National Assembly was not in a position to convene, the decision proclaiming the state of emergency was adopted by the President of the Republic together with the President of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, as envisaged by the Constitution. The state of emergency had been declared in accordance with the joint opinion of senior medical professionals advising the state, the crisis response team and the Government itself. On 28 April the first session of the National Assembly was held. On 29 April the National Assembly confirmed the Decision on Declaring a State of Emergency, as well as all decrees with legal force that the Government of Serbia adopted with the co-signature of the President of Serbia and the Prime Minister, during the state of emergency.
The Government has the exclusive power to declare state of emergency (Art. 5 of Constitutional Law no. 227/2002). The first declaration of state of emergency was made by Resolution no. 114 of 15 March 2020. It concerned the most affected districts and imposed certain professional duties on health care professionals. Resolution no. 115 of 18 March 2020 expanded the state of emergency to the entire Slovakia. Resolution no. 169 of 27 March 2020 expanded the state of emergency and imposed certain professional duties on social services professionals. Resolution no. 207 of 6 April 2020 expanded the state of emergency and imposed a curfew from 8 April 2020 to 13 April 2020 (the Easter holidays), with certain exceptions akin to those applicable in other countries (commute to work or school, grocery and other necessary shopping, walks in nature within the same district, etc.). Resolution no. 233 of 16 April 2020 expanded the state of emergency and imposed certain professional duties on further groups of health care professionals. Resolution no. 366 of 10 June 2020 ended the state of emergency as of 13 June 2020.
Yes. According to Art. 116.2 SC, the state of alarm is declared "by the Government by means of a decree agreed upon by the Council of Ministers for a maximum time limit of fifteen days". After this first tim-limit, the Government may submit the declaration for successive extensions to Parliament. Neither the Constitution nor the Organic Law establishes the duration that these extensions should have, so the Government proposes a duration for the extension that must be authorised by the Congress of Deputies. In fact, Congress can determine the scope and conditions of the extension, and this also includes its duration.
No, the Constitution does not provide for the possibility to declare a state of emergency due to crises in peacetime. See Q1.
Switzerland did not declare the state of emergency in the sense of a qualified extraordinary situation.
The state of emergency was declared in North Macedonia by the President of the Republic due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country has been leaving under a quasi-permanent state of emergency since 2015.
A state of emergency was not declared in Turkey due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Emergency measures were taken by regulatory acts of President and the executive authorities based on the powers given to those authorities by the ordinary legislation on health risks, police powers of the regional governors etc.
During the Covid-19 pandemic a state of emergency provided by the Constitution was not declared. However, an emergency situation in a number of oblasts (regions) was declared by orders of the national Government (Cabinet of Ministers), and the nationwide quarantene was imposed on the basis of the decision of the Cabinet of Minsiters № 211 of 11 March 2020 (with reference to Article 29 of the Law of Ukraine "On protection of the population from infectious diseases").
There is no constitutional framework providing for the "declaration for the state of emergency", but the Government enjoys exceptional regulatory powers to issue emergency regulations under the CCA (see Q2) and under s. 45C PH(CoD)A.
The federal government and all 50 states (including the five discussed herein) issued declarations of states of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Albania
Based on this provision, the Council of Ministers announced the state of natural disaster in the entire territory of the Republic of Albania with Decision no. 243, dated 24.3.2020 "On the declaration of the state of natural disaster", for a period of 30 days from the moment of entry into force. On 23.4.2020, the Albanian Parliament through decision no. 18/2020 "On granting consent for the extension of the state of natural disaster", granted the consent for the extension of the state of natural disaster until 23.07.2020
Armenia
Austria
The Government acted on the basis of the pre-existing legislation on epidemic control, namely the Epidemic Diseases Act. Thus, on 11 March 2020 the Minister of Health, by a decree, prohibited assemblies with more than 500 participants, ordered the closures of universities and schools, stopped cross-border traffic, etc.
In order to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, specific laws have been adopted which provide for authorizations for Federal Ministers to issue regulations and extend the powers of the executive: Covid-19 Law (15 March 2020), including the COVID-19 Measures Act (COVID-19-Maßnahmengesetz), second Covid-19 Law (21 March 2020), including the Law concerning accompanying measures to COVID-19 in administrative proceedings, proceedings before administrative tribunals, before the Supreme Administrative and the Constitutional Court (Verwaltungsrechtliches COVID-19-Begleitgesetz – COVID-19-VwBG).
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Council of Ministers of BiH passed the Decision on declaring the state of natural or other disaster on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Government of the Federation of BiH passed the Decision on declaring the state of disaster caused by COVID-19 in the Federation of BiH.
The Mayor of Brčko District declared a state of natural disaster due to COVID-19.
In the Republika Srpska the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska passed a Decision on declaring a state of emergency on the territory of the RS. The decision to lift the state of emergency in the Republika Srpska was passed by the National Assembly at the session held on 21 May 2020.
By the decision of the Government of the Federation of BiH, the state of disaster caused by the outbreak of coronavirus and pandemic (COVID-19) in the territory of the Federation of BiH ended on 31 May 2020.
Bulgaria
The National Assembly instructed the Council of Ministers to take all necessary measures to manage the emergency situation in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and in accordance with Art. 57, para. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Later on 3 April the National Assembly decided to extend the term of the declared state of emergency on the entire territory of the Republic of Bulgaria until 13 May 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis several amendments were made to the Health Act. Article 63 of the Health Act provides that in the event of an immediate threat to the life and health of the public owing to the epidemic spread of a disease referred to in Article 61(1) (which includes COVID-19), an emergency epidemic situation shall be declared to protect the life and health of said public. The emergency epidemic situation referred to in Paragraph (1) shall be declared for a fixed period by a dedicated decision of the Council of Ministers and following a proposal by the Minister of Health on the basis of an assessment of the epidemic risk in place conducted by the Chief State Health Inspector.
This power of the Council of Ministers was exercised on 14 May when after the end of the state of emergency an emergency epidemic situation was declared for the period of one month by Decision No 325. The Decision obliges the Minister of Health on the proposal of the Chief State Health Inspector to introduce temporary anti-epidemic measures for the territory of the country in order to protect and preserve the life and health of citizens. The epidemic situation has been extended 6 times in a row and according to the last Decision No 673 from 25 September, it was extended until the end of November.
Cyprus
With its decision of 10 March 2020, the government delegated the special powers derived from the Quarantine law to the Ministry of Health for a period of six months. The Minister of Health was issuing decrees which contained most of the limitations related to the coronavirus crisis. - for example, see here. The ministry issued over 30 such decrees.
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
The first measures related to the Covid-19 crisis were adopted by the Minister of Health on the basis of Article L3131-1 of the Public Health Code - see here. On the basis of these competences, the Minister of Health adopted the ministerial decree of 14 March 2020, which prohibited public access to a number of public-wide meetings or activities with more than 100 people in a closed or open environment and prohibited users from accessing nurseries and educational and higher education institutions. Other similar decrees followed.
Second, a law created the state of health emergency, specifically organising the powers and competences of the authorities, and by which the legislator also empowered the executive to act by ordinance on certain matters. This is Act 2020-290 of March 23, 2020. Under the 2020-290 Act of 23 March 2020, the state of emergency is declared by decree in the Council of Ministers.
Germany
Before, already on March 16, 2020, the Bavarian Ministry for Internal Affairs, Sport and Integration had declared a state of disaster throughout its entire territory on the basis of § 4 of the Bavarian Disaster Protection Act. After the North-Rhine-Westphalian parliament had passed the IfSBG NRW as a part of a legislative package (“Act to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in North-Rhine-Westphalia consistently and in solidarity and to adapt state law to the effects of the pandemic”) on 14 April 2020, the Landtag declared an epidemic situation throughout its entire territory for two months on the base of this act.
In most Disaster Protection Acts of the 16 states the disaster is also dealt with by the official determination of the entry and the end of the disaster described. These declarations are merely symbolic and the outward announcement that the authority has determined the disaster case. The measures taken to fight Covid-19 are based on the federal IfSG and legal acts of the states.
Hungary
The Governmental decree declaring the state of danger does not have a "sunset clause” i.e. the state of danger is in place until the threat that caused the introduction of the special legal order has ceased to exist (this regulation has been in effect in Hungary since 1990 too). Thus, if the conditions for the declaration no longer exist, the Government is obliged by the provisions of the FL to terminate the state of danger by a new governmental decree.
The Act LVII of 2020 terminating the state of danger entered into force 18 June 2020 (for the English translation click here). According to Section 1 the Parliament called on the Government to terminate the state of danger declared on 11 March. The Government terminated the state of danger with the Government Decree 282/2020 (17 June) which entered into force 18 June 2020 (click here). On the very same day the Government, declaring a state of health crisis, has introduced a state of epidemiological preparedness in the entire territory of Hungary (Government Decree 283/2020 of 17 June) on introducing a state of epidemiological preparedness (for the English version click here).
Ireland
Health (Preservation and Protection And Other Emergency Measures in The Public Interest) Act 2020 provided in section 2.4 that special COVID-related measures can be extended by the decision of the Government beyond 9th of May.
Such orders (extending the emergency measures beyond this date) should be submitted for approval to Parliament, which may approve or annul them but “without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder” (Section 2 (5) of the 2020 Act).
Under Emergency Measures in The Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020, its operation is limited by 9 November 2020, and may be extended by the resolution of both houses of parliament. On the basis of this act the Government may decree the “emergency period” which normally lasts for 3 months but the Government can extent this emergency period beyond 3 months.
Italy
The declaration of the state of emergency was based on legislative decree 2 January 2018, n. 1. (see Q2). Later the Government started inacting decree laws on the basis of Article 77 of the Constitution (which do not need a declaration of the state of emergency to be adopted).
In parallel, the Ministry of Health was issuing urgent orders by virtue of the mandate given to it by the law on the National Health Service
Korea, Republic
In addition, daily economic activities are taking place in South Korea, and no disturbances have occurred. The National Assembly functions normally as usual. Therefore, securing public order by military forces under Article 77 of the Constitution is not required at present, and the declaration of martial law by the President was not considered.
In a theoretical case the President invokes his/her power to exercise exceptional legislative power or martial law, such action is subject to parliamentary control by the National Assembly.
Kyrgyzstan
The above-mentioned presidential decrees on the declaration of a state of emergency in certain territories were approved by Acts of Parliament No. 3652, 3652 and 3653 dated of 24 March 2020.
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Instead, a nationwide situation of emergency was declared by the executive on the basis of thethe Law on Civil Protection (see Q2), without determining its duration (26 February 2020) and quarantine was introduced (by decree no. 207) on the entire territory of Lithuania for three months.
On 26 February 2020, the Government declared a state-level situation of emergency (extreme situation) on the basis of the Law on Civil Protection (see Q2) and, having regard to the situation, on 14 March 2020, declared the third-level alert of the civil protection system and introduced quarantine from 16 March 2020 in the entire territory of the Republic of Lithuania on the basis of the Law on Civil Protection and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Humans.
Therefore, it was the Government that declared the legal regime for the state-level situation of emergency and, subsequently, quarantine, by introducing necessary restrictions, while acting on the basis of the provisions of the relevant laws (the Law on Civil Protection and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Humans).
Initially, the quarantine was introduced for two weeks and, subsequently, it was extended several times, mostly for a period of two weeks each time. The quarantine was effective until 16 June 2020, 24:00 (in total, for 3 months since its introduction), and it was revoked by the resolution of the Government of 10 June 2020 (entering into force on 17 June 2020). As mentioned above, the state-level situation of emergency was declared without determining its duration, until the Government would adopt the resolution lifting the situation of emergency.
During the period of fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minister of Health was appointed as the State-Level Emergency Operations Chief, responsible, inter alia, for the implementation of governmental resolutions and taking other actions to prevent and control the spread of Covid-19. After the quarantine was revoked, the Minister of Health, acting in his capacity as the State-Level Emergency Operations Chief, is the entity supervising and implementing the safety measures.
The quarantine lasted until 16 June 2020; after the quarantine was revoked, the temporary control of the borders has remained, with the prohibition for citizens of particular countries to enter the territory of Lithuania and the requirement for all persons arriving from the list of indicated countries (which varies from week to week according to the pandemic situation in the world) to stay in isolation; some border posts in order to enter the territory of Lithuania have remained closed; special rules and limitation on the number of persons for organising events in indoor and outdoor places have been set.
Mexico
Instead, on March 23rd and 30th, the National Health Council declared COVID-19 a ‘grave disease requiring preferential attention’ and a ‘sanitary emergency by virtue of force majeure’, respectively. The federal executive usendpowers conferred by the Health Act, including the closure of all non-essential business on 31 March 2020, by a number of Ministry of Health Decrees (
Monaco
This is the case:
-the Ministerial Decision of 13 March 2020 on the closure of some childcare facilities;
- the Ministerial Decision of 17 March 2020 on the closure of certain schools;
- the Ministerial Decision of 17 March 2020 on temporary travel regulation from 18 to 31 March 2020;
-the Decision of 19 March 2020 on temporary regulation of public access to Monaco's sea and sea waters;
-the Decision of 19 March 2020 on temporary regulation of public access to outdoor public facilities and spaces;
-the Ministerial Decision of 22 March 2020 temporarily restricting night travel and prohibiting all travel from 22 March to 31 March 2020 between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.;
-the Ministerial Decision of 27 March 2020 amending decisions on temporary travel regulation and access to certain places or facilities;
-the Ministerial Decision of 31 March 2020 on the preventive measures to be followed by any person;
-the Ministerial Decision of 10 April 2020 extending the aforementioned Decision from 17 March to 15 April 2020;
-the Ministerial Decision of 10 April extending the aforementioned provisions until 3 May 2020;
-the Ministerial Decision of 16 April 2020 extending the closure of certain public institutions;
-the Ministerial Decision of 22 April 2020 on the closure of certain premises and establishments;
-the Ministerial Decision of 28 April 2020 providing for the gradual resumption of activities from 4 April 2020;
-the Ministerial Decision of 14 May 2020 amending the decision of 28 April 2020, on the gradual resumption of activity.
It will be noted, in a different order, that Act 1.485 of 9 April 2020 suspended administrative deadlines.
Finally, it should be noted that these provisions were taken for short periods of time and renewed in the interests of strict proportionality between the necessity to which they respond and the restrictions they impose. Moreover, this principle of proportionality is recalled in the explanatory statement of the aforementioned ministerial decisions.
Specifically, these decisions refer precisely to the stated objectives of public health, to the circumstances of time and place in which they are enacted.
Morocco
Norway
Peru
Portugal
Quick spread of the COVID 19 disease required the adoption of exceptional containment measures that could only be taken within the constitutional framework defined for the state of emergency.
The state of emergency was first declared by a Decree of the President of the Republic, nº 14-A/2020, of March 18, with the duration of fifteen days, and, by declarations of the President of the Republic (Decrees nº 17-A/2020, of April 2 and 20-A/2020, of April 17), it was renewed twice for periods of fifteen days each.
The declarations of a state of emergency by the President of the Republic were authorized by the Assembly of the Republic, after debate and approval, and in the constitutional form of Resolution (art. 166, 5 of the Constitution), and preceded by consultation with the Government, in accordance with the procedure established in the Constitution and the organic law.
For the English text of the Decree and the Resolution by Parliamnet click here.
San Marino
Social Security with the power to convening the Congress of State with the view to declaring the state of
emergency, following consultations with the Group of Coordination of Health Emergencies (established
pursuant to Article 2 of the same Law-Decree). Article 1, paragraph 2, of Law-Decree n. 35 further allows the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Security to declare the state of emergency with no prior convocation
of the Congress of State if such a convocation is not possible due to the situation of emergency. However,
the ordinance declaring the state of emergency so adopted, must be presented to the Congress of State at
its first possible meeting. Article 1, paragraph 4, of Law-Decree 28 February 2020 n. 35 also provides that the
validity of the ordinance declaring the state of emergency may be extended if the reasons which justified its
adoption still exist.
Accordingly, in San Marino, the state of emergency was declared on the 22nd of February 2020 by the
Secretary of State for Health and Social Security with Ordinance n. 1/2020, issued following the Congress of
State’s approval through Deliberation 22 February 2020 n. 1. In accordance with Article 1, paragraph 3, of
Law-Decree 28 February 2020 n. 35, Ordinance n. 1/2020 provides that its provisions shall be valid for 90
days from its date of issuance (Article 4, Ordinance n. 1/2020).
On the 23rd of February 2020, according to Article 1, paragraph 4, of Law-Decree 28 February 2020 n. 35, and
following the approval of the Congress of State (Congress of State Deliberation n. 1 of the 23rd of February
2020), the Secretary of State for Health and Social Security issued a second ordinance adopting additional
measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic (Ordinance n. 2/2020). The ordinance established
that its provisions were valid from its date of issuance until the 1st March 2020 (as per Article 3). Further
measures were adopted by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Security on the 1st of March 2020 with
Ordinance n. 3/2020, which abrogated Ordinance n. 1/2020 and provided that the newly adopted provisions
should be valid from its date of issuance until the 8th of March 2020.
Serbia
On 6 May 2020, the Serbian National Assembly adopted a decision to end the state of emergency which was declared on 15 March 2020. In addition, the National Assembly also adopted the Law on the Validity of Decrees Adopted by the Government with the Co-Signature of the President of the Republic during the State of Emergency and Confirmed by the National Assembly (“the Official Gazette of the RS” No- 65/2020 – “Law”). The law abolished eleven decrees that were in force during the state of emergency.
Slovakia
As a reaction to the worsening of the pandemic situation at the beginning of autumn, Resolution no. 587 of 30 September 2020 again declared a state of emergency for 45 days beginning from 1 October 2020.
For the text in the Slovak language see here.
Spain
In accordance with this provision, Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March was initially issued, declaring the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, which has been extended six times, for successive 15-day time limits (the extension, at the time of the writing) was authorised at the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies held on 3 June. The Minister of Health has been the state authority designated in Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, to manage the state of alarm and in its six successive extensions (at the first period, together with other Ministers, due to the subject matter to be acted upon).
For the decree declaring the state of alarm in Spanish click here.
Sweden
Switzerland
The situation was considered “extraordinary” in the sense of Article 185 al. 3 of the Constitution and of Article 7 of the Epidemics Act.
The powers conferred on the Federal Council by the Constitution in the case of extraordinary situations (see Q10), in particular by Article 185 al. 3 of the Constitution, and Article 7 of the Epidemics Act were considered sufficient to cope with the pandemic.
The state of extraordinary situation was proclaimed by the Federal Council on March 16, 2020, under Article 7 of the Epidemics Act
North Macedonia
On 18th of March 2020, the Government proposed to the Assembly to declare a state of emergency . The President of the Assembly forwarded the proposal to the President of the Republic the same day, informing him that because the Assembly was dissolved on the 16th of February 2020, he would not be able to call a session of the Parliament on which the proposal of the Government will be discussed and decided. On the basis on the proposal of the Government and the letter of the President of the Parliament, the President of the Republic declared a state of emergency on the 18th of March for a period of 30 days.
Tunisia
In 2020, the President of the Republic Mr Kais Saied has declared a state of emergency throughout the territory for the duration of one month from 1 January 2020.
The state of emergency has been renewed several times; the latest took effect from 29 May 2020 for a period of 6 months.
Presidential Decree No. 2020-24 of March 18, 2020 proclaiming curfew throughout the territory of the Republic - see here
Presidential Decree No. 2020-28 of March 22, 2020 limiting the movement of people and gatherings outside curfew hours.
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
The threshold for the use of emergency powers under the CCA is extremely high. The CCA has never been used, and its predecessor provision was used only five times in 84 years. The emergency powers under the CCA were not used to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, nor to the terror attacks which have occurred since 2004 in the UK, nor to the 2011 riots which occurred in London and other cities. The current government guidance is that resilience authorities should assume that the powers will not be used, and that, as has happened in the Covid-19 pandemic, it will often be more appropriate to pass a specific Act of Parliament dealing with the emergency than to invoke the CCA.
Theoretically speaking, under the CCA, emergency regulations can be made under s. 20 where the person making the regulations is satisfied that the following conditions are met (s. 20(1), s. 20(2)(a); s. 21(2)-(4); s. 23(1)):
- That an emergency has occurred, is occurring or about to occur. Emergency is defined in s. 19(1) as: (a) an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in the United Kingdom or in a Part or region, (b) an event or situation which threatens serious damage to the environment of the United Kingdom or of a Part or region, or (c) war, or terrorism, which threatens serious damage to the security of the United Kingdom. The remainder of s. 19 goes on to provide additional detail about what amounts to a threat of serious damage to human welfare or the environment;
- That it is necessary to make provision for the purpose of preventing, controlling or mitigating an aspect or effect of the emergency;
- That the need for that provision is urgent;
- That the provision is appropriate for the purpose of preventing, controlling or mitigating an aspect or effect of the emergency in respect of which the regulations are made;
- That the effect of the provision is in due proportion to that aspect or effect of the emergency.
In order for emergency regulations to be made under the CCA, the person making the relations must preface them with a statement which specifies the nature of the emergency in respect of which the regulations are made, and declares that the person making the regulations is satisfied (s. 20(5)):
- that the conditions in section 21 are met;
- that the regulations contain only provision which is appropriate for the purpose of preventing, controlling or mitigating an aspect or effect of the emergency in respect of which the regulations are made;
- that the effect of the regulations is in due proportion to that aspect or effect of the emergency; and,
- that the regulations are compatible with the Convention rights (within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act).
If a senior minister purports to exercise the power to make emergency regulations under s. 20(2)(b), they must also state that they are satisfied that it would not be possible, without serious delay, to arrange for an Order in Council (s. 20(5)(b)(v)).
In addition, the Covid Act (the CA) passed in 2020 is of a clearly temporary nature. The CA’s temporary and exceptional nature is indicated by two provisions: the major provisions of the Act will cease to apply after two years (s. 89). This can be extended, but only by six months at a time (s. 90(2)-(3)). There is a power to bring forward the expiry date of the Act (s. 90(1)). The Act is subject to six-monthly parliamentary review (s. 98), at which point the House of Commons may decline to accede to a motion that the CA not yet expire. If the House so declines, the power in s. 90(1) must be exercised to bring forward the expiry date of the CA to not later than 21 days after the rejection.
United States of America
At Federal Level: On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued the Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak (Proclamation 9994). This proclamation was made by the authority vested in the President “by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and consistent with section 1135 of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5).” The national emergency is ongoing and remains in effect.
Before that, on 31 January Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency within his authority under the Public Health Service Act. This declaration was retroactive to January 27, 2020, and triggered a (limited) number of sanitary measures.
At State Level the state of emergency was declared and extended in all States, for example by Governor Brian Kemp of GA who declared a public health state of emergency for COVID-19 on March 14, 2020. He renewed this state of emergency several times, most recently extending it through July 12, 2020. On April 2, 2020, Governor Kemp issued an executive order establishing a shelter-in-place order for the State of Georgia. The shelter-in-place order expired on April 30, 2020, and was restricted to “medically fragile and elderly Georgians.”
NE: Governor Pete Ricketts signed a state-of-emergency declaration for COVID-19 on March 13, 2020. The state of emergency will remain in effect until terminated by Gov. Ricketts, unless it is first terminated by the legislature. Note that as of June 16, 2020, Governor Ricketts has not issued a shelter-in-place order for the State of Nebraska.
WA: Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency for COVID-19 on February 29, 2020. It will remain in effect until Gov. Inslee terminates it, which he must do “when order has been restored in the area affected.” Rev. Code Wash. (ARCW) §43.06.210. On March 23, 2020, Governor Inslee issued an executive order establishing a stay-at-home order for the State of Washington. He extended the order indefinitely on April 2, through May 4, at which time he issued orders for a phased easing of the stay-at-home requirements.
NY: In Executive Order 202, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a disaster emergency for COVID-19 for the entire State of New York on March 7, 2020. The governor made this declaration of a disaster emergency “pursuant to Section 28 of Article 2-B of the Executive Law.” The executive order will remain in effect until September 7, 2020. On March 20, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order establishing a stay-at-home order for the State of New York. On May 14, Gov. Cuomo extended the stay-at-home order for the State of New York through June 13.
WI: On March 12, 2020, Governor Tony Evers proclaimed that “a public health emergency, as defined in Section 323.02(16) of the Wisconsin Statutes, exists for the State of Wisconsin.” On March 24, 2020, Governor Evers issued an executive order establishing a stay-at-home order for the State of Wisconsin. He extended the stay-at-home order on April 24. However, the Wisconsin legislature filed suit to strike down the order, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the order invalid on May 13, 2020, in the case Wisconsin Legislature v. Palm.