OAR@UM Collection:/library/oar/handle/123456789/1357122025-11-11T01:10:52Z2025-11-11T01:10:52ZLessons for future global health crises : examining the challenges of balancing public health interventions and human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic/library/oar/handle/123456789/1358652025-05-28T13:07:49Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Lessons for future global health crises : examining the challenges of balancing public health interventions and human rights during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented governments with an unprecedented challenge: how to effectively protect life and public health while preserving individual rights and freedoms. In response, governments have implemented various measures that have raised concerns regarding their alignment with human rights. This dissertation examines the legal and evidentiary bases governments have used to jus8fy measures that potentially restricted rights such as privacy and liberty, focusing on their alignment with international human rights standards. The research employs a doctrinal approach to analyse the interplay between individual rights and public health measures during a global health crisis. It scrutinises relevant international laws, regula8ons, and precedents that authorised such measures, as well as how international courts and bodies have balanced public health imperatives with human rights obligations. Central to this analysis is the application of international legal principles, including the necessity and proportionality of measures as outlined in international instruments and relevant jurisprudence from bodies like the European Court of Human Rights. The dissertation will thus engage with concerns regarding the implementation of public health measures that arise from the analysis of the legal and evidentiary bases that governments used to jus8fy their COVID-19 measures that are grounded in international law frameworks, as well as recommendations for more human rights-centred government responses in future pandemics. This research addresses a gap in the literature by providing an in-depth analysis of COVID-19 case decisions, the relationship between the evidential and legal bases of such measures, and their application in such cases. It explores how states have interpreted and applied their obligations under international law during the pandemic, including derogations from human rights treaties. The examination reveals inconsistencies and potential weaknesses in the legal and evidentiary foundations used by governments to jus8fy their COVID-19 measures when viewed through the lens of international law. It aims to contribute to the development of a more robust human rights framework for future global health emergencies.
Description: LL.M.2025-01-01T00:00:00Z