ABSTRACT
The 1997 Polish Constitution contains an extensive regulation of human rights, principles of their limitations, and remedies applicable in case of their violation. It establishes different requirements for limiting human rights during the normal functioning of the state and during a state of emergency. The differences in the two legal regimes concern the application of the principle of proportionality, the prohibition on violating the essence of constitutional rights, and the possibility of their temporarily suspending. As a state of emergency has only been announced once in Poland, namely in 2021 with regard to the migration crisis on the border with Belarus, the assessment of the practice of applying extraordinary limitation of constitutional rights is very limited. The assessment of the restrictions on human rights in times of the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenge as under the more restrictive requirements established for a situation of normal functioning of the state the most far-reaching restrictions, resulting in the temporary suspension of human rights, were unconstitutional. The introduction of these restrictions outside of the constitutional framework of a state of emergency may expose the Polish authorities to substantial claims for compensation being made by citizens affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic.
