Almanac of law. Issue 16 (2025), pages 400–408.

DOI: 10.33663/2524-017X-2025-16-400-408

Kurackyk T. V.
The essence of the concept of restricting the rights of a person and a citizen

The article explores the theoretical and legal foundations of international standards for restricting human rights during martial law. In the context of military conflict, the need for a state to ensure national security often leads to temporary restrictions on individual rights and freedoms. However, such restrictions must comply with international legal standards developed within the framework of key international instruments — including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the European Convention on Human Rights (1950), and the practice of international courts.

The research focuses on the fundamental principles governing the permissibility of restrictions — legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination — and emphasizes the concept of non-derogable rights, which remain inviolable even under conditions of war. Special attention is paid to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee, which concretize the criteria for lawful derogation in emergency situations.

The article also analyzes institutional mechanisms for safeguarding rights during martial law, particularly the role of judicial review, parliamentary oversight, and international monitoring. Through a comparative legal analysis of democratic and authoritarian regimes (e.g., France, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation), the study highlights significant differences in how emergency powers are applied, and the extent to which basic rights are upheld or undermined.

The author concludes that international human rights standards should be interpreted not only as a set of binding norms but as a holistic legal paradigm designed to uphold human dignity in conditions of instability. Their effective implementation requires not only legal formalism but also the existence of functioning institutions, political accountability, and openness to international supervision.

Key words: human rights, martial law, international standards, restrictions, derogation, ECtHR.

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