The paper deals with the limitations of constitutional rights caused by the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue of decision-making limiting fundamental human rights and freedoms in accordance with Articles 16 and 17 of the Constitution is discussed. Numerous experts advocated for the activation of Article 17 of the Constitution and the declaration of a state of emergency, emphasizing the role of the Croatian Parliament, emphasizing that the Civil Protection Headquarters does not have the authority to make such decisions. The work is divided into seven parts. In the first part, the concepts of state of emergency, pandemic and epidemic are defined, then the course of events related to the crisis is presented, while in the fourth, fifth and sixth parts, the two main decisions of the Constitutional Court on the prohibition of working on Sundays and the constitutionality of the work of the Headquarters are considered. The ban on working on Sundays was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court because it did not meet the test of proportionality, while in another decision it assessed that the Headquarters has the legal authority to enact measures in accordance with the subsequent amendments to the Civil Protection System Act. The last part contains the author's conclusion The impression remains that during the crisis, decisions limiting constitutional rights and freedoms were first made, and only then were they given a legal basis.