Criminal Liability for the Transmission and Spread of Infectious Diseases in Times of Pandemics

ABSTRACT

His article analyses the adequacy of existing criminal law instruments for a more effective protection of public health in pandemic situations. The outbreak of COVID-19 and its serious consequences on people's lives and health has raised the debate as to whether the classic crimes of injury or homicide represent an adequate instrument for dealing with this type of emergency situation or whether it is necessary to introduce an offence of spreading infectious diseases into our criminal legislation. This offence was already present in the previous Penal Code, but was repealed by the current Penal Code. In order to properly address the question and reach a conclusion one way or the other, the profiles of the former offence of propagation and comparative European law are studied, followed by an examination of the possibilities presented in this field by the offence of injury. In the light of this, appropriate criminal policy considerations are formulated.