06 November 2020
Die Ärztliche Pflicht zur Kapazitätsausweitung vor der Triage
Mit steigende Infektionszahlen steigt auch der Bedarf an Beatmungs- und Intensivbetten für schwer erkrankte Covid-19-Patienten. Als Garanten für Leben und Gesundheit ihrer Patienten könnten Ärzte in einer Pandemiesituation die strafbewehrte Pflicht haben, die Verlegung von Patienten und andere Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung der Behandlungskapazitäten zu organisieren. Continue reading >>
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04 November 2020
Effective Pandemic Management Requires the Rule of Law and Good Governance
Nine months since the declaration of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus as a global health emergency by the WHO, and we know much more about the virus, including transmission and control. Governments, however, are still operating in emergency mode and relying on emergency powers to the exclusion and suspension of the ordinary functioning of the state. Such suspension of the normal functioning of parliamentary control and judicial oversight exposes one of the most damaging fallacies of crisis: that emergency management requires the suspension of rights, the rule of law and good governance. Continue reading >>03 November 2020
Confronting Misinformation During A Pandemic
A new report by The Freedom House tracks recent developments in internet-freedom and presents the “Pandemic’s Digital Shadow” on democratic values around the world. The report explains how governments worldwide used the covid-19 pandemic to limit access to information, expand their surveillance efforts, and intensify the balkanization of the internet. It raises the question what democracies should, and should not, do to confront the perils of misinformation. Continue reading >>22 September 2020
Wer bekommt den knappen Covid-19-Impfstoff?
Noch gibt es keinen Impfstoff gegen Covid-19. Auch wenn ein wirksames Mittel gefunden ist, werden längst nicht genug Impfdosen für alle bereitstehen, die sich vor der Krankheit schützen wollen. Jens Spahn hat angekündigt, die Frage, wer bei der Vergabe der Impfstoffe Vorrang haben soll, bis Ende Oktober zu regeln. Grund genug, ein erstes Schlaglicht auf die juristischen Probleme einer solchen Normierung zu werfen. Continue reading >>04 August 2020
Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore
The massive consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are felt throughout the world, not the least in our daily work as scholars and practitioners. While the effect of the pandemic upon the political, legal, and economic systems have been widely debated also on this blog (see here, here, here), the last months have also brought about one of the most rapid and encompassing structural transformations in both academia and legal practice. Reflections on its consequences upon academia were so far overshadowed by more imminent concerns such as the reopening of campuses, student mobility, and mass layoffs in higher education. Yet, many of the changes brought about by the pandemic are here to stay on a long-term basis, hence, this post attempts a first sketch of a critical reflection by discussing some of the potentials and challenges posed by the “Zoomification” of our working lives. Continue reading >>30 July 2020
Chasing reality
This year, like every year, saw the usual spate of data and publications aimed at tracking and analysing changes in the Rule of Law. This year, unlike every other year, has seen a global pandemic of hitherto unknown proportions. We have seen extreme changes to institutional powers, the balance between institutions, and new innovations in digital courts and parliaments. These changes render much of the painstakingly collected and analysed data on the Rule of Law out of date. Continue reading >>
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09 July 2020
In Search for an Antidote
In early January 2020, the Chinese doctor Li Wenliang became the first victim of what would soon become a global censorship pandemic. After warning colleagues about a mysterious SARS-like disease in an online chat room, Dr. Li and seven other doctors were arrested for spreading “false rumors.” Li had to sign an agreement warning of consequences if he continued his “illegal activities.” By 31 December 2019, the government forced social media platforms like YY and WeChat to censor content related to the coronavirus, Dr. Li and the government’s handling of the outbreak. Next, the regime cracked down on journalists, commentators and foreign correspondents covering the crisis. On 7 February 2020, Dr. Li died of the coronavirus. There can be little doubt that COVID-related misinformation can cause harm and panic. But censorship is a bad medicine that may well worsen rather than cure the infection of distrust and conspiracy theories. Continue reading >>
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08 July 2020
Voting in Times of a Pandemic
Last Sunday, the Croatian parliamentary elections took place. Holding the elections in the middle of a pandemic triggered a broad debate on the restrictions of the right to vote proposed by the State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia (DIP) in order to protect public health. The initial voting instructions of the Commission were substantially changed a few days before the elections after the country’s Constitutional Court got involved. Before the court’s decision people who had COVID-19 were forbidden to vote. Continue reading >>
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07 July 2020
To Vote or Not to Vote?
The COVID-19 pandemic poses considerable challenges to democracies across the world. This is particularly apparent with regard to the holding of elections which states have approached in various ways. States face the following tension: On the one hand, the obligation to protect the rights to health and life requires states to limit the spread of the pandemic by reducing human-to-human contact. At the same time, these measures encroach upon the right to political participation. Against that background, an intricate balancing of the various interests in light of international human rights law seems necessary. Continue reading >>
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01 July 2020
Children in Lockdown
Medically (while more scientific studies are necessary), COVID-19 largely seems to have little impact on children. However, children have been deeply affected by the lockdowns implemented to protect everyone else’s vulnerability. There is one issue which has so far received scant attention in the Covid-19 English-language constitutional law analysis, namely that of the ramifications of domestic lockdowns for children’s constitutional protections. Using Norway as a case study, we identify a set of issues and propose how a critique could have been articulated. Continue reading >>
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