Présentation de l'éditeur

We are currently living in a new normal. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to millions of deaths and is changing how we live, work, socialise and move through the world. But Covid-19 is one of many epidemics to have shaped human life throughout history, causing untold suffering and death and changing how we live. Their effects are seldom limited to one country or region, and how societies prevent, manage and recover from epidemics is inevitably influenced by international law. Epidemics are regulated not only by international health law but also by international human rights law, international environmental law, international trade and investment law, international transport law, international law of peace and security and international humanitarian law. Despite this, they have received limited attention in mainstream international legal scholarship. This volume provides a comprehensive examination of epidemics and international law from the perspective of general international law. Featuring thirty-one essays by researchers from around the world and from various areas of expertise, it demonstrates how epidemics shape – and are shaped by – international legal norms across varying domains of international law.

This volume is the product of collaborative work conducted between August 2020 and April 2021 as part of the Centre for Studies and Research on Epidemics and International Law. 

Shinya Murase (Japan): Professor Emeritus, Sophia University, Tokyo; Member of the UN International Law Commission (ILC); Member of the Institut de Droit International (IDI).

Suzanne Zhou (Australia): Manager, Prevention, McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer.

Sommaire

Preface – Foreword

Part I – Introduction. The Reports of the Directors of Studies

Chapter 1 Suzanne Zhou
Some reflections on the scope of the topic “epidemics and international law”

Chapter 2 Shinya Murase
Interrelationship among relevant rules of international law on epidemics

Part II – History and Theory of International Law Relating to Epidemics

Chapter 3 Maria Adele Carrai
The historical emergence of international health regulations

Chapter 4 Raphael Oidtmann
The concept of borders in international health law

Chapter 5 Otto Spijkers
Value-based norms as the foundation for the pursuit of health in global solidarity

Chapter 6 Shaimaa Abdelkarim
Global human rights praxis in public health and the response to Covid-19

Part III – Global Health Governance

Chapter 7 Gail C. Lythgoe
The law of global governance: understanding the institutional architecture and practices of epidemic governance

Chapter 8 Ana Cristina Gallego Hernández
International obligations before health emergencies

Chapter 9 Margherita Melillo
When a delay is a denial: the role of scientific evidence in the world health organization’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Chapter 10 Olha Bozhenko
Information sharing on epidemics: making the world a healthier place by improving the reporting regime

Chapter 11 René Fabrizio Figueredo Corrales
Who is WHO watching? WHO’s surveillance competence under the 2005 international health regulations to prevent and control the international spread of infectious diseases

Chapter 12 Ling Chen
International cooperation and assistance as legal obligations in epidemics and disasters

Part IV – Regional Framework

Chapter 13 Jose Yepez
Legal issues of the institutional framework in Latin-America concerning the Covid-19 pandemic

Chapter 14 Bethlehem Arega Asmamaw
Development of international health law: the role of the African union

Part V – Human Rights and Health

Chapter 15 Fernando Arlettaz
Restrictions on civil rights in time of epidemics

Chapter 16 Remzije Istrefi
Emergency state powers and human rights

Chapter 17 Cecilia I. Silberberg
Legal strategy to safeguard the right to personal data protection in future epidemics

Chapter 18 Luciano Bottini Filho
State positive obligations and the international right to health in epidemics: how much should be enough?

Part VI – Environment and Epidemics

Chapter 19 Iraida Angelina Giménez
Epidemics and climate change in international law

Chapter 20 Xiaoou Zheng
Understanding the interrelationship between biodiversity and epidemics from the perspective of international environmental law

Chapter 21 Andrew Van Duyn
Transboundary environmental impact assessments and the international control of infectious disease spread

Part VII – Investment and Transport Law

Chapter 22 Sophie Davin
Epidemics and investment law: a host state’s perspective

Chapter 23 Maria Emilynda Jeddahlyn Pia V. Benosa
Covid-19: a vicious wave for maritime transport

Part VIII – Epidemics and Peace and Security

Chapter 24 Aline Almeida Coutinho Souza
The new facet of United Nations peacekeeping missions: recognizing global health risks as a threat to international peace and security

Chapter 25 Craig D. Gaver
What role for the UN Security Council in epidemics?: A Covid-19 case study

Chapter 26 Mulry Mondélice
The UN and the Haiti cholera case: Articulating the rule of law, immunities and responsibility y of international organizations in international law

Part IX – Responsibility and Liability

Chapter 27 Siamak Karimi
Liability of the state of origin regarding the outbreak of epidemics

Chapter 28 Alex Silva Oliveira
Reflections on the concept of responsibility in epidemics

Chapter 29 Yu-Hsiang Huang
Is the WHO responsible for a mismanagement of the epidemic? Conceptualizing mandate, power and obligation

Part X – Dispute Settlement

Chapter 30 Zhang Maoli
The role of scientific evidence in inter-state dispute settlement relating to epidemics

Chapter 31 Anna Facchinetti
State immunity from civil jurisdiction in epidemic-related cases