Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said on Wednesday that the Parliament was continuing its business as usual and refuted criticism that decisions pertaining to human rights should be adopted by a two-third majority in the legislature in the current circumstances, too.
The Parliament performs its duties in compliance with the Constitution, Jandroković said in response to criticism by some civil society associations and President Zoran Milanović that the legislature and not the COVID-19 crisis management team should adopt the decisions pertaining to human rights and that those decisions need to be supported by a two-third majority.
- The Parliament is currently applying Article 16 of the Constitution that stipulates that certain freedoms and rights could be limited by law in the event when the protection of health of our citizens is at stake, the Speaker said.
- After the health minister declared a state of epidemic, that article enables the implementation of the law on the protection of the population against infectious diseases which defines quarantines and confinement measures, ban on public gatherings, restriction of business activities, in line with Articles 32 and 50 of the Constitution, as protective measures in the event when the health of the citizens should be protected, Jandroković explained.
He points out that the Constitutional Court has not established any case of irregularity or acts against the Constitution by any state body. He went on to say that the Parliament would continue doing its business as usual. The second set of the Government's measures to help sustain the economy in the current crisis caused by the epidemic will be on the parliament's agenda this week.
The Speaker said that MPs would probably vote on the items from the agenda next Monday or Tuesday, and that they would most likely gather in a large hall such as the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall for that purpose so that they could obey social distancing.