Ain’t no justice in a flowerbed: Similarities and differences between the Law on the protection of persons with mental disabilities and the Law on the protection of the population from infectious diseases – Do we need the Law on the protection of persons with infectious diseases?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has opened new questions in rendering of health care that need to be addressed. As the COVID-19 pandemic occurred during the period of respect for “human rights”, in this article the authors are comparing the provisions concerning health protection and restriction of the rights of two vulnerable categories, persons with mental disorders, and persons suspected of suffering from, or suffering from infectious diseases. Both vulnerable groups are categories of persons whose liberty may be restricted without their will in certain cases. The article points out certain vagueness of the Law on the Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases regarding the (judicial) control of imposed security measures, especially in comparison with the Law on the Protection of Persons with Mental Disabilities. In the conclusion, the authors are providing some possible solutions to the observed ambiguities. The authors analyze the legal protection of these categories of persons in relation to the exercise of their right to health and in the context of Art. 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. This Article enables the restriction of rights and freedoms in order to protect the freedoms and rights of other people, legal order, public morals and health, which must be proportionate to the nature of the need for restriction.

Keywords

• commitment of mentally ill – legislation and jurisprudence; communicable disease control – legislation and jurisprudence; public health – legislation and jurisprudence; human rights; right to health; human rights; patient right; informed consent; covid-19; pandemics