By Keith Syrett
The measures taken in the United Kingdom to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic have been described as “almost certainly the most severe restrictions on liberty ever imposed.”
By Keith Syrett
The measures taken in the United Kingdom to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic have been described as “almost certainly the most severe restrictions on liberty ever imposed.”
By Alicia Ely Yamin
The shape of the COVID-19 pandemic and legal responses to it are changing rapidly across different contexts. Nonetheless, many of the issues raised in this global symposium will undoubtedly be the subject of scholarly and policy debates for the foreseeable future. Here I synthesize three emerging themes regarding structural challenges and democratic design.
The first case of COVID-19 diagnosed in Colombia was declared on March 6th. The first COVID-19-related death occurred on March 16.
Between the first known case and the first death in Colombia, the government took action to stop the spread of the disease. All of these decisions, insofar as they are considered part of ordinary police powers, will be reviewed by the State Council as to their legality. The State Council has decided to review 400 administrative acts that it has identified as related to the emergency.
By Allan Maleche and Nerima Were
Kenya confirmed its first COVID-19 case on March 12th, 2020. In the weeks that have followed, the government has acted to address the pandemic through a number of measures that have also significantly curtailed constitutionally guaranteed rights.
As of May 20, 2020, Spain had the second highest per capita rate of COVID-19 deaths in the world, with 59.5 deaths per 100,000.
In response to the coronavirus crisis, Spain declared a state of alarm on 14 March 2020, which lasted for fifteen days. It did so through “Royal Decree 463/2020, declaring a state of alarm to manage the health crisis caused by COVID-19,” adopted by left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Council of Ministers in the executive branch of government and signed by King Philip VI. The state of alarm has been prolonged through Royal Decrees five times to last until June 7th.
By Daniel Aaron
The past few weeks have seen protests against stay-at-home orders across the country. As protesters clamor for their freedom to leave home and conduct business, a constitutional battleground emerges over the novel coronavirus.
There is a strong argument that the Constitution has been infringed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But these infringements, I will argue, have more to do with the (lack of) federal response to the pandemic than curtailed rights to move, travel, and do business.
By John Tingle
After the COVID-19 pandemic is over, a key issue remains for the United Kingdom’s National Health Service: Will there be less avoidable patient harm, fewer occurrences of “never events,” and fewer headline grabbing patient safety crises?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, companies, organizations, and individuals have sought to address supply chain gaps for needed medical equipment. Spare parts and products created during the COVID-19 pandemic include ventilator tube splitters, nasopharyngeal swabs, and face shields.
In the past, outside of the context of a public health crisis, I have discussed the need to adopt legislation to create a narrow exemption from design patent liability to assure a competitive supply of automobile repair parts. The current pandemic makes a stronger case for the need to explicitly incorporate into our legal system a right to repair and supply products in emergencies.
By Sara Gerke
Many countries are looking these days to Germany’s approach to combating COVID-19. Although Germany initially experienced a high case rate, the country has been able to slow the spread of the virus and appears to have the situation better “under control” than other countries.
There may be various reasons for Germany’s successful handling of the pandemic so far, ranging from early testing for COVID-19 to high public outreach and transparency to increasing the number of ICU beds and ventilators.
In the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Iceland rolled out an extensive strategy of testing, isolating, contact tracing, quarantining, and social distancing, which has helped the country avoid the most drastic rights restrictions.
Diagnostic testing of those with symptoms started almost a month before the first case was identified in late February. By early March, hospitals and nursing homes closed to visitors, and public health authorities teamed up with a private company, deCODE genetics, to collect samples from symptom-free/mildly symptomatic residents. The collaboration (while controversial) provided valuable information on the prevalence of COVID-19 to tailor Iceland’s response. Read More