Restrictions on Sports Economic Activities Related to Counteracting COVID-19 – a Few Comments Regarding the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 21 December 2020

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the public authorities to undertake numerous actions to counteract the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Protection of life and health has required the introduction of legally effective mechanisms that interfered with constitutional freedoms, including the freedom of economic activity. Restrictions and bans aimed at combating the epidemic were introduced in 2020 in the form of regulations issued on the basis of the Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans, amended for the purposes of combating COVID-19. Its provisions gave the Council of Ministers the power to introduce temporary restrictions in carrying out specific scopes of economic activity. The frequently changed wording of the regulations resulted in interpretation difficulties in determining the scope of the restrictions. Justified doubts have been raised concerning the provisions of the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 21 December 2020 on the establishment of certain restrictions, orders and bans in connection with the occurrence of an epidemic, relating to sports economic activities. The scope of the legal provisions differs significantly from the communications of the representatives of the Council of Ministers. The purpose of this article is to establish the actual scope of the restrictions on the conduct of sports facilities, established at the end of 2020.