CCU: Only a Law, Not the Cabinet, May Restrict Rights During Quarantine

Remember the COVID-19 quarantine? It was because of possible violations of people’s rights when it was introduced that the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights applied to the Constitutional Court. The question: can the Cabinet of Ministers decide on its own which constitutional rights to restrict?

On 29 September 2026, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU) adopted Decision No. 4-r/2026: the provision of the law that allowed the Government to set such restrictions on its own was declared unconstitutional in that part.

Parliament allowed the Cabinet of Ministers to restrict rights during quarantine but did not set sufficiently clear limits.

The Court explained that it is the law that must determine which restrictions are permissible, for what purpose, whom they concern and how long they may last. These questions cannot be left solely to the Government’s discretion.

The Cabinet of Ministers may determine how to apply restrictions already provided for by law, but it may not introduce new ones on its own. In other words, a Cabinet resolution alone is not enough – proper legislative grounds are required.

At the same time, this does not mean that all quarantine restrictions during COVID-19 have been declared unlawful. The decision concerns a specific provision of part 4 of Article 29 of the Law of Ukraine “On Protection of the Population from Infectious Diseases”, not all quarantine measures. That provision ceased to have effect, in the part specified by the Court, on 29 September 2026.

If you have questions about restrictions introduced by public authorities, we will help you assess the situation and your options for protection: disputes with state authorities.