The opposition requested on Friday that the announced fining of citizens for violating COVID restrictions be regulated by law, saying that such a restriction of rights and freedoms must be voted in by a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
“If citizens will be banned from doing things which in normal circumstances wouldn’t be banned and if they will be fined for what is allowed in regular circumstances, then Croatia is evidently in a state of emergency. This means that laws which dramatically restrict civil rights and freedoms must be adopted by a two-thirds majority in parliament in line with Article 17 of the Constitution,” Social Democratic Party president Pedja Grbin said about the possibility of fines for not wearing a mask or keeping a distance.
If the ruling majority doesn’t accept that, he said, the SDP won’t participate in the adoption of such a law “because we don’t want to restrict our citizens’ rights and freedoms in a way that is banned by the Constitution.”
Commenting on the latest COVID restrictions, Grbin said the government realised that previous ones were not effective and that in order for the new ones to be, “it’s necessary to work on it together, in line with the Constitution.”
Skoro sees solution to crisis in new election
Homeland Movement leader Miroslav Skoro said the main question was whether the national COVID response team was the right authority to adopt decisions such as those made in other countries where, he added, the goal was to protect citizens and “not the man running the country and his HDZ” party.
Skoro said he was against any fines and that things should have been set differently from the start. He said people were confused because the restrictions applied to them but not the ruling HDZ party.
The solution to this crisis is in calling an election and changing the government, he added.
Nikola Grmoja (Bridge) said all decisions which restricted human rights and freedoms should be adopted by parliament.
He said he was not sure that fines would resolve the problem and that instead, it was necessary to explain to people why they should comply with COVID measures.
Sandra Bencic of the Green-Left Bloc said all measures which restricted civil rights must be adopted in parliament by a two-thirds majority “because we are de facto in a state of emergency and for any penalties to be legal, they must be stipulated by law, clear and foreseeable.”
She said the government and the COVID response team were imposing restrictions without parliamentary procedure and that now they wanted to fine people without a law.
That is against the Constitution and we will continue to fight it. This doesn’t mean that violations should not be fined, but fines should be voted in parliament in order to be in line with the constitution, otherwise everyone who files a constitutional suit will be right, said Bencic.
