Public Health Crisis Management and Criminal Liability of Governments: A Comparative Study of the COVID-19 Pandemic - Hardcover

Michael Bohlander; Gerhard Kemp; Mark Webster

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1509946314 ISBN 13: 9781509946310

Publisher: Hart Publishing, 2023

Synopsis

In the rush to control COVID-19, the world’s governments rolled out a range of strategies: herd immunity, test and trace, lockdown. Each had a direct impact on the virus and the ensuing casualties. This book argues that given the significance of strategic failings in responding to the virus, criminal liability might well come into play. It suggests potential avenues for such liability, particularly for causing bodily harm and death. Meticulously charting the responses from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, North America and Latin America, it sets out each country’s response, infection rates and casualties. It then looks at the applicable criminal law and how acts or omissions might be analysed within that particular legal framework. Casting its net wider than purely legal considerations, the collection opens with an introduction from an epidemiologist, and economists comment on possible defenses. This book is vitally important, not only in allowing lessons to be learnt, but in setting benchmarks for evaluating governments’ responses to any such future crisis.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Bohlander is Chair in Comparative and International Criminal Law at Durham Law School, UK.
Gerhard Kemp is Professor of International and Transnational Criminal Justice, University of Derby, UK.
Mark Webster is an international criminal law practitioner and a Scottish qualified solicitor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1509946314
• ISBN 13: 9781509946310
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432
• Editor: Michael Bohlander, Gerhard Kemp, Mark Webster