How Rights Are Limited During Emergency and Wartime

During a state of emergency or wartime, some rights may be temporarily restricted, but this does not place the state outside the Constitution. Such restrictions must remain lawful, temporary, public, and subject to oversight.

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General principle

A state of emergency or wartime allows the state to adopt additional security measures. But it does not mean that constitutional order disappears or that the authorities gain unlimited power.

What may be restricted

Depending on the situation, temporary restrictions may affect:

  • freedom of movement
  • rules for public assemblies
  • information-security measures
  • special public-safety regimes

What conditions must still be met

Any emergency restriction must:

  • be based on law
  • be temporary
  • be connected to a real and specific threat
  • be publicly announced
  • remain open to judicial and constitutional oversight

What still cannot be violated

Even in exceptional situations, certain fundamental guarantees must remain protected, especially:

  • human dignity
  • the prohibition of torture
  • protection from unlawful violence
  • core legality guarantees

Why this is important

Emergency regimes always create a risk of overreach. That is why the Constitution must continue to function as a limit even in extraordinary times.

What a citizen can do

If a restriction appears unlawful, excessive, or discriminatory, a person may:

  • challenge it in court
  • file a complaint with prosecutorial bodies
  • appeal to the Ombudsman
  • seek constitutional review where applicable

Key facts

  • Emergency does not place the state outside the Constitution
  • Restrictions must remain legal, temporary, public, and reviewable
  • Fundamental guarantees still matter even in exceptional regimes
  • Unlawful or discriminatory restrictions can be challenged
Related questions

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Yes, but only under strict constitutional conditions. Any limitation of rights must be established by law, pursue a legitimate aim, and remain proportionate. The state may regulate rights, but it cannot abolish them arbitrarily or use vague restrictions for political convenience.

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Constitutional rights can be protected through courts, the Constitutional Court, the Ombudsman, the prosecution system, and administrative complaint mechanisms. Effective protection depends not only on rights being in the text, but on institutions that can enforce them in practice.

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Digital rights are among the major innovations of the new Constitution. They include protection of personal data, privacy of digital communications, control over information about oneself, and stronger constitutional safeguards in the online environment.

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The new Constitution guarantees the core rights and freedoms of every person and citizen, including life, liberty, dignity, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, religion, property, fair trial, education, and social protection. These rights are not symbolic declarations — they are constitutional guarantees binding on the state.