Some countries in Central and Southeastern Europe are using the corona crisis to undermine the foundations of the rule of law and institutions. First of all, Hungary - but also countries in the Western Balkans, including Serbia.
In times of epidemics, society has to accept enormous restrictions on public life. It is the same in the case of the corona crisis. Prohibitions on contacts, going out and traveling should slow down the spread of the disease. However, some countries from Central and South-Eastern Europe are now using the corona crisis to undermine the rule of law, without this having a better chance of success in the fight against the epidemic.
First of all, we are talking about Hungary. Last Friday, Viktor Orbán's government proposed a law allowing Orbán to rule by decree. That law, which, as the government announced, is for protection against the coronavirus, should be adopted next week at the latest.
The government in Hungary can already rule on the basis of special powers, because it has declared a state of emergency. But it is valid for 15 days and must be constantly extended.
An indefinite state of emergency?
The new law foresees that the state of emergency after the vote in the parliament will be valid indefinitely and that the government, with the aim of protecting the population and stabilizing the economy, will be able to pass decrees that may deviate from the current laws. Due to the state of emergency, the work of the parliament would be suspended for a long time, elections and referendums would no longer be held, and only the Constitutional Court would be able to sit. According to the draft law, the government will decide when the state of immediate danger will end.
In addition, the new draft law introduces two new criminal offenses: whoever prevents the measures taken to fight the epidemic, must face up to eight years in prison. And one more thing: whoever spreads fake news in dangerous locations or in a dangerous situation can count on up to five years in prison.
The planned law should be adopted by the parliament in the coming weeks. That requires a two-thirds majority – and Orbán's government has it in parliament.
The Hungarian opposition criticized the bill, stating that it represents "the introduction of Orbán's total power" and "a blank check for ruling by decree." Numerous Hungarian non-governmental organizations, as well as many commentators, expressed their concern about the proposed law, among them the left-wing philosopher Gašpar Miklós Tamas. "If we see that the Orbán government is using the epidemic as an excuse to introduce an open, formal dictatorship, then how can we believe that the restrictive measures are justified," he asked in a commentary in HVG magazine.
"Grossly disproportionate" measures
In other Southern European countries, too, the epidemic serves as an excuse for questionable restrictions on the postulate of the rule of law. So far, four members of the Council of Europe, Armenia, Latvia, Moldova and Romania, have announced the so-called deviation from the provisions of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights. Thanks to this, during the state of emergency, these countries can make part of the civil rights invalid. Critics describe the measures as "completely disproportionate".
In Bulgaria, President Rumen Radev vetoed the controversial law on emergency measures. The law originally looked similar to the one in Hungary - therefore it provided for a prison sentence for spreading false news about the spread of the virus. Another contentious provision allows the military to implement extraordinary measures that normally only the police have, such as passport control. Surprisingly, part of the ruling coalition accepted the president's veto. However, it remains open whether similar provisions will be reshaped. Parliament should decide on it in the coming days.
Serbia: "One step away from dictatorship"?
The crisis management of some presidents and governments of the countries of the Western Balkans is controversially discussed. In Serbia, politicians of the democratic opposition and independent legal experts accuse President Aleksandar Vučić, who, according to critics, introduced a state of emergency on March 15 without having constitutional grounds for it. They claim that Serbia is "one step away from dictatorship".
In Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced increased penalties for those who defy curfews and sent armored vehicles with machine guns to patrol the capital, Tirana - a move strongly criticized by the opposition.
In Montenegro, the government has started to publish on the Internet the names and addresses of citizens who have been quarantined. According to the statements of Prime Minister Duško Marković, this is necessary, because the authorities cannot control these persons by themselves, and therefore citizens must be informed. It is about health and life, says Marković and adds that now is not the time for debates about legal nuances and data protection. Montenegrin fighters for the protection of human rights criticized it fiercely. They consider it a "call for lynching".
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