Travel Restrictions and Border Security Measures on the Canada-U.S. Border During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Law Matter in a Crisis?

Limited travel restrictions and border controls may be justified on a short-term emergency basis in the early stages of an outbreak of infectious disease even though such measures, if applied broadly, may not conform to the principles of ethical public health practices and almost certainly infringe on constitutionally protected rights and freedoms. Although the broad travel restrictions and border controls on the Canada-U.S. border raise a number of novel legal and public policy issues in terms of their necessity, efficacy, and constitutionality, a tradition of judicial deference in cases involving public health measures during a pandemic suggests that the courts may uphold the travel restrictions and border control measures as a necessary and reasonable limit on constitutionally protected rights and freedoms. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

The state of exception and its effects on civil liberties in Italy during the COVID-19 crisis

The ongoing global pandemic represents an unprecedented challenge for contemporary political systems. This chapter focuses on the impacts of the pandemic containment measures and the consequent considerable restrictions to constitutional rights and civil liberties. It defines the essential elements of State of Exception (SoE) both in general and in the Italian context. The chapter explores some of the features that characterize the declaration and implementation of SoE on a global level with a focus on the COVID-19 emergency. It analyzes, respectively, the regulation and implementation of SoE and containment measures in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter explains the effects of SoE and containment measures on civil liberties. It also explains the main critical aspects of SoE in Italy and some implications relevant to both research and policymaking. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Rule of Law in a State of Disaster: Evaluating Standards for the Promulgation, Administration and Enforcement of Emergency Regulations in South Africa

This paper applies the rule of law test to emergency regulations adopted to combat a national disaster in South Africa. A declaration of a national state of disaster, such as a pandemic, triggers emergency powers which enable the executive to mitigate the disaster, assist and protect the public, provide relief, and protect property. However, emergency powers provide a pretext for the executive to limit constitutional rights and to curtail the enjoyment of freedoms. These unprecedented powers also pose a risk of arbitrary exercise of public power, which can only be prevented if the promulgation, administration and enforcement of emergency regulations conform to the principles of legality, rationality and proportionality. These principles are understood as tenets of the rule of law in South Africa. They require a strong commitment to respect, protect and promote human rights at a time when they are most vulnerable to violation by the State. Given the role of the judiciary in the maintenance of the rule of law, and the litigation against the emergency regulations adopted in response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper also discusses the ensuing case law to illustrate the practical application of the rule of law test to a national disaster.

Conformity, polarization, and democratic dialogue in times of pathogen threats. Germany and the United States during Covid-19

Conformity and polarization are two reactions to pathogen threats like the Covid-19 pandemic. This article discusses the dilemma between protecting public health as well as preserving the democratic dialogue and constitutional rights. I compare two countries which reacted very differently to the pandemic. While Germany was marked by high social conformity levels, in the United States political polarization was predominant. The analysis focuses on the time between March and November 2020. I show, first, the differences and interactions between conformity and polarization. Second, societies seem to be more aware and concerned about polarization than about conformity. Third, I show that both reactions, high conformity and polarization levels are detrimental for the democratic dialogue and constitutional rights © 2022, Eastern Journal of European Studies.All Rights Reserved.

Protecting Workers' Equal Rights during Crisis and Recovery: Constitutional Approaches in 193 Countries

This chapter analyses the scope, potential, and early impacts of constitutional protections for equal rights, social protection, and minimum labour standards in safeguarding workers' health and livelihoods during Covid-19. Across countries, both the pandemic itself and many policies enacted in response (eg economic shutdowns) disproportionately affected marginalized workers due to underlying disparities in terms and conditions of work, social protection coverage, and living conditions. While the right to health has clear relevance during a pandemic, protections for equality and fundamental economic rights also matter to workers' overall well-being, particularly when policy responses focus narrowly on preventing disease spread through closures without adequately addressing social determinants of health like workplace safety and income. This chapter: (1) draws on a unique global dataset to analyse the extent to which constitutions protect equal rights, decent work, and social insurance in 193 countries;(2) reviews early examples of how these constitutional protections provided tools to support both health and economic needs and uphold foundational equality amidst a crisis;and (3) identifies gaps likely to leave workers vulnerable if unaddressed. It finds that explicit constitutional protections for almost all aspects of equal rights, decent work, and social insurance have become more common over time;moreover, courts from wide-ranging countries have cited these protections in decisions addressing workers' rights and households' material needs amidst Covid-19. Nevertheless, most countries lack constitutional provisions specifically addressing safe working conditions or income protection during illness and unemployment-areas that matter to equality both during pandemics and more typical years. © The several contributors 2022. All rights reserved.

Combating Domestic Violence amidst Social Isolation and Covid-19

This paper explores the situation faced by women in the family atmosphere during the pandemic-imposed lockdown and the inability on the part of the State and its machinery to provide access to instant remedies against domestic violence as envisaged under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act, 2005. The concept of parens patriae (parent of people) has proved to be in existence only nominally during the contingency. Many of the well framed statutory protective mechanisms including the constitutional machinery of the Judiciary have failed to provide a helping hand to the tortured women everywhere. The social isolation strategy adopted to tackle the Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated the age-old shadow of domestic violence. A doctrinal study is undertaken to analyse the existing legislative and judicial measures against domestic violence, especially in the context of rising domestic violence during the pandemic. The objective of the paper is to identify the victimisation faced by women during the pandemic and the difficulties they face in accessing the redressal mechanisms stipulated under the PWDV Act. To reach the victims of domestic violence, and to free and save them from the clutches of respondents1 with the help of legislations is not sufficient. To deal with such an unexpected new normal scenario, it is necessary to find an alternative mechanism whereby an instant remedy, more than which is perceived under the PWDV Act, could be provided to victims of domestic violence. The methodology adopted for this paper is basically doctrinal. The legal framework at the national and international levels to curb the menace of domestic violence is brought in for the structuring of rights and obligations. An analysis of the present Covid-19 pandemic based on the reports available offline and online is also undertaken. Judicial decisions form the building bricks for the establishment of constitutional rights and its affirmation. Hence a systematic analysis of Supreme Court decisions is also undertaken to complete the research paper.

Ensuring the Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Participants in Criminal Proceedings in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The emergence of new threats and risks caused by coronavirus infection and previously not predicted in the main documents of the national strategic development has led to the transformation of law and legal science. The participants in the criminal proceedings were assigned additional duties of a public legal nature, which affected the ability to directly participate in the procedural actions, as well as to fully exercise constitutional rights and freedoms during the preliminary investigation and trial. In turn, representatives of the judicial and investigative authorities faced serious difficulties in fulfilling the requirements of criminal procedure and other legislation that is not adapted to such crisis situations on a global scale. The purpose of the study is to develop scientifically based and practically significant recommendations aimed at ensuring the constitutional rights and freedoms of participants in criminal proceedings in the conditions of the new coronavirus infection, regardless of their procedural and legal status. Research objectives: analysis of the world experience in the formation of criminal procedural mechanisms to ensure the rights and freedoms of participants in legal proceedings in connection with countering the spread of COVID-19;study of the activities of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the judicial community in the context of a pandemic crisis;identification of features of the digital transformation of criminal proceedings in the context of countering the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (including the use of video conferencing systems-connections);substantiation of measures for further development of legislation and improvement of law enforcement practice aimed at ensuring the constitutional rights and freedoms of participants in criminal proceedings in a crisis situation. Research methodology: dialectical method of cognition, general scientific methods of ion, analysis and synthesis, special legal methods (comparative legal, logical legal, etc.). Conclusion: the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the need to improve the criminal procedural mechanisms for the effective functioning of criminal proceedings. Additional incentives are required to search for new conceptual ideas and scientifically based solutions aimed at ensuring the constitutional rights and legitimate interests of participants in legal proceedings who are in selfisolation. The expediency of modernizing legislation and improving law enforcement practice along the way of introducing modern information technologies into the domestic criminal process and the progressive transition from a simple written form to electronic legal proceedings is argued. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]

Legality of restrictions on human rights and freedoms in a Covid-19 Pandemic: The experience of Ukraine

The purpose of the study is to examine the content of the right to health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focused on the legitimacy of restrictions on constitutional rights and freedoms due to mandatory vaccination and other restricition measures in Ukraine. Diversified views of scholars on this issue were established, the legislative basis for establishing restrictions on constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens was determined, and the method of normative establishment of such restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic adopted by the Government of Ukraine was criticized. The legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Supreme Court of Ukraine on the legality of compulsory vaccination during a pandemic and restrictions on the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens are presented. To achieve the goal of the research, general scientific research methods were used, such as: analysis, synthesis, modeling and ion. These methods were used to determine the constituent elements of a person's right to health care, to determine their relationship, to give specific examples of solving the problem of vaccination, to draw conclusions on the legality of vaccination and to limit certain constitutional rights of citizens.

Indigenous Rights and COVID-19 - Indigenous Land and Health Under Serious Threat in Brazil

This article analyses the impact of COVID-19 on the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly in Brazil. It deals with the current situation of the Brazilian indigenous peoples, the impacts of the pandemic, the rights created on the adoption of protective sanitary measures for indigenous people and land rights in Brazil. Does the Brazilian government comply with international law, with constitutional rights of indigenous peoples in the current COVID-19 crisis, particularly with the Brazilian Supreme Court decision on the adoption of protective sanitary measures for indigenous people? With a focus on the 2020 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this paper will identify and examine the gaps in protection of the indigenous peoples rights by reason of the impact of the cow n-19 crisis. This paper argues that the crisis is misused as an occasion for land invasions, deforestation, forest fires and the denial of basic indigenous rights. Especially in Brazil, a transformative change, an emergency support for indigenous peoples, and a still stand agreement on logging and extractive industries operating next to indigenous communities are needed. Brazilian NGO statements give guidelines as to how to manage the threats of the present pandemic on indigenous peoples of Brazil. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation all offer further relevant suggestions as to how to address the serious impacts in the response to and the aftermath of this crisis.

Contact Tracing in the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Digital Contact Tracing Affects Our Individual Rights

Amid public health crises, contact tracing becomes an imperative mechanism in combatting the threat at hand. In today’s day and age, technology has exploded, leaving the legal world to determine technologies’ effect on the law. As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc upon the world, how is contact tracing affected by the advent of modern technology, and how does the use of technology such as geolocation, artificial intelligence (AI), and facial recognition technology (FRT) comport with the rights to privacy, association, free exercise of religion, and equal protection? This paper will examine the current constitutional precedents to provide insight as to how the use of digital contact tracing would influence the rights of everyday citizens. Constitutional implications of digital contact tracing using geolocation, AI, and FRT are considered against the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments (more specifically, against freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to privacy, and the right to equal protection). Given the novel aspects of geolocation, AI, and FRT, digital contact tracing could result in potential constitutional violations under certain circumstances. This research shows that while digital contact tracing using novel technology could be done in a legal way, there are just as many concerns to be had about potential constitutional abuses that could affect each and everyone’s lives. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Biosecurity, Biosafety & Biodefense Law is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The Political Economy of Rights to the COVID-19 Vaccine in Southern Africa

Access to vaccine and medical technologies is a right derived from the right to health as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and other international and national conventions. However, there is a void between the commitment in principle to enhancing this access as part of the right to benefit from scientific progress on the one hand, and technical considerations surrounding universal access to health goods on the other hand. In Southern Africa, studies on the COVID-19 vaccine focused on how the international community has failed to commit itself to helping developing countries in providing aid towards vaccine procurement. Little effort has been directed at exploring alternatives to the manufacturing of generic vaccine. The study aimed to explore the possibilities of increasing the availability of generic vaccines in Southern Africa. An exploration of the potential of state institutions together with Africa-based pharmaceutical companies to ascertain the possibility of carrying out the task of manufacturing the vaccine was done. This was done through document analysis from literature that has been published on vaccine production of even other diseases as well as that of COVID-19. Literature comprised of official documents, academic publications as well as company documents. In addition to that, an analysis of documents on the enabling legal framework was also conducted. Through document analysis, national medicine policies that were reviewed indicated that although health is a constitutional right, the drafting of it did not factor the element that lack of access to vaccines seriously compromise the right to health. There was inadequate availability of human expertise, while commitment at national level was insignificant. On the enabling legal framework, it was noted that the World Trade Organisation, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property also created inequality of access by prioritising intellectual rights more than access to health. Given the lack of expertise, insignificant national commitment, and promotion of the rights to health in some Southern African states, a higher mortality risk is imminent. Hence the need for a comprehensive establishment of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine in Southern Africa countries.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Balance of Constitutional Rights.

ABSTRACT: In 2020 the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 to be a pandemic. Governments around the world are facing a tough challenge that could jeopardise the national healthcare systems. Safeguarding the rights of Covid patients and all citizens - especially those who are now even more vulnerable than they were before - is part of this challenge. This work aims to examine the issues arising from the current emergency in terms of how individuals' constitutional rights have been balanced and how much people at the highest risk amid this pandemic - the homeless, the inmates in prison, geriatric and psychiatric patients, and doctors on the Covid frontline - have been protected. This analysis focuses mostly on one of the worst-hit countries by the SARS-CoV-2: Italy.