20.500.12556/DKUM-96369 Rule-of-law crisis during the COVID-19 epidemic the case of Slovenia Rule-of-law crisis during the Covid-19 epidemic: the case of Slovenia This article examines the Constitutional Court of Slovenia's rulings on the government's COVID-19 measures between 2020 and 2022. During the pandemic, the Slovenian government imposed lockdowns, curfews, and school and business closures, and required a "COVID pass" for access to services. These restrictions significantly interfered with fundamental rights, leading to numerous legal challenges. The Constitutional Court found several of these decrees unconstitutional, revealing serious tensions between public health governance and constitutional democracy. The article has two main goals: to evaluate the extent of rights violations and to assess whether rule-by-decree is aligned with democratic principles. The findings show that the rule of law was often undermined, with pandemic-related legal tools at times used to pursue authoritarian political aims. Slovenia's case demonstrates the fragility of democratic institutions in emergencies. It highlights the vital role of constitutional courts in defending the constitutional order, especially when they themselves face political attacks in increasingly illiberal environments. Članek obravnava odločitve Ustavnega sodišča Republike Slovenije glede ukrepov vlade med epidemijo covida-19 v letih 2020–2022. Vlada je sprejela številne odloke, ki so uvedli zaprtje javnega življenja, policijsko uro, prepoved zbiranja, zapiranje šol in podjetij ter pogoj PCT za dostop do storitev. Ti ukrepi so močno posegli v temeljne pravice, kar je sprožilo številne ustavne presoje. Ustavno sodišče je več teh ukrepov razglasilo za neustavne, kar kaže na resne napetosti med varstvom javnega zdravja in načeli ustavne demokracije. Članek zasleduje dva cilja: oceniti obseg posegov v pravice ter preveriti, ali je vladanje z odloki ostalo v okviru demokratičnih načel. Ugotovitve kažejo, da je bila vladavina prava večkrat ogrožena, pravni instrumentarij pa zlorabljen za avtoritarne cilje. Slovenska izkušnja poudarja krhkost demokratičnih institucij v kriznih časih in ključno vlogo ustavnih sodišč pri obrambi ustavne ureditve, zlasti ko postanejo tarča političnih pritiskov v režimih z neliberalnimi elementi. rule of law constitutional democracy COVID-19 epidemic constitutional court Slovenia pravna država ustavna demokracija epidemija COVID-19 ustavno sodišče Slovenija true false false Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Neznano 2025-12-23 03:19:11 2026-02-02 10:56:15 2026-02-03 03:14:31 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 str. 215-240 no. 2 Vol. 18 Oct 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova NiDoloceno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-10-01 342.7:616.9-036.2(497.4) 253720067 10.18690/mls.18.2.215-240.2025 2463-7955 https://journals.um.si/index.php/medicine/article/view/5495 1 c6499cad-dfa5-11f0-8aa3-00155d580e02 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=201651 1_salamon_(1).pdf 1_salamon_(1).pdf 1 0617E9C9E9ECEFDF1D7817B5EF76E330 0437b0d26730cd5b29b5dc60514321adc861e519798060f989eb25a5203e6fa3 63d4464d-001d-11f1-90fc-00155d581219 https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=202963 Univerzitetna založba Univerze v Mariboru Pravna fakulteta 0 0 0