Transformation of State functions under the influence of pandemic conditions
Authors:   Siberian Law University, Trutaeva Anna V. 
Published: March 2023

The pandemic of the new coronavirus infection, which has been going on in the world for several years, is regarded as a global challenge to the existing structure of public life, the economy, and the state, having had a powerful destructive impact on all spheres of people's lives. Assessing the pandemic as a total threat in the world of work, the International Labour Organization (hereinafter - the ILO) in one of its reports stressed that policy responses should primarily be aimed at solving such tasks as protecting workers, employers, and their family members from the threat posed by a new coronavirus infection, establishing and strengthening protection measures. from it, as well as support for employment and income, stimulating the economy and demand for labor. Among the main state responses in the field of social protection of the ILO are access to medical care, social security in connection with illness (temporary disability benefits), protection from unemployment, social protection of elderly citizens and families with children, the establishment of temporary social benefits for socially vulnerable categories of citizens, benefits in the field of taxes and contributions for social insurance, ensuring the prompt and correct operation of the mechanism for providing social security. In an attempt to counter the multiple and extensive negative effects of the pandemic, today often referred to as a coronacrisis in general, to protect the population from such, States have taken various measures, and often radical ones. The researchers note that the most common areas of work of states around the world have become support for national health systems, support for living conditions and incomes of the population, state lending to business, tax measures for the population and business. It seems that in the conditions of a pandemic, any functions performed by the State ultimately lead to consequences inherent in the social function. And such a transformation of the functions of the state today is more in line with the public demand. Stimulating, supporting or limiting steps that have been taken in various countries of the world in order to counteract the consequences of the pandemic and protect the population and business from such, have received an ambiguous and sometimes contradictory assessment of citizens. It should be noted at the same time that in the current situation, threatening danger even with elementary social interactions, restrictive measures were approved by citizens: the latter were not always against the establishment of a ban on movement, social contacts, etc. The experience of the pandemic has shown that the intervention of public authorities in the spheres of public relations, in which their active participation previously caused contradictions and was limited in order to provide participants with freedom of expression, is now a necessity and is mainly approved by society.: This is characteristic of both the sphere of civil turnover (rental relations, issues of accrual of sanctions for late fulfillment of obligations), and the sphere of labor relations (issues of dismissal of an employee, remuneration). In the field of social security, the existing conditions have provoked a new round of discussion about the availability, guarantee of social security, and mechanisms for exercising the right to it in changing stressful circumstances. The above points to the transformation of the role of the state under the influence of emergency conditions: in such a person expects to meet in the person of the state not an indifferent observer or business partner, but sometimes an assistant and a guarantor of security, including physical. The content of the social function in the conditions under consideration, in addition to the provision of rights, opportunities, benefits, acquires an element of limitation, the establishment of a framework. At the same time, this restriction is dictated by the goals of protecting both the individual and society as a whole. The author declares no conflicts of interests.