Pandemics and International Law: Norms, Actors and Responsibility

The workshop purports to offer an overview of the interplay between pandemics and public international law, from the perspective of WHO and international human rights law. The aim is to provide students with the key tools to build a sound knowledge of the international health governance and, in particular, to understand current legal challenges posed by pandemics.
The workshop will analyze, firstly, the WHO framework and the relevant international human rights rules, and it will outline the main global actors involved in this field. Particular attention will be paid to the implementation in practice of the (2005) International Health Regulations, in light of the most recent outbreaks. Secondly, it will address, with a hands-on approach, current and perspective litigation, in order to assess whether and under what conditions States and International Organizations can be held responsible for contributing to, or mismanaging, pandemics.

By the end of the workshop, students should be able: 1) to gain knowledge of public health governance at the international level, with particular regard to the management of communicable diseases; 2) to critically appraise the responsibility of States and International Organizations, with particular regard to the ongoing epidemic crisis; 3) to acquire and use written and oral communication skills as regards the issues dealt with in the workshop and use them to build solid legal arguments using appropriate legal concepts and language; 4) to develop a method of independent research and study of the topics dealt with in the workshop, by learning how to search and use primary sources, case-law, and scholarship.