Policy Press

Emergency Powers in a Time of Pandemic

By Alan Greene

Published

Oct 29, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1529215410

Dimensions

203 x 127 mm

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 29, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1529215427

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press

Published

Oct 29, 2020

Page count

182 pages

ISBN

978-1529215427

Dimensions

Imprint

Bristol University Press
Emergency Powers in a Time of Pandemic

How do we maintain core values and rights when governments impose restrictive measures on our lives?

Declaring a state of emergency is the best way to protect public health in a pandemic but how do these powers differ from those for national security and economic crises?

This book explores how human rights, democracy and the rule of law can be protected during a pandemic and how emergency powers can best be ended once it wanes.

Written by an expert on constitutional law and human rights, this accessible book will shape how governments, opposition, courts and society as a whole view future pandemic emergency powers.

"Dr Greene places the chaos and maelstrom of 2020 within the wider literature on rights and the state of exception. And he does so in an accessible book!" Fergal Davis, Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London

"Dr Greene directs his inimitable expertise on states of emergency to address the challenge of our time, COVID-19. A crucial text critically evaluating the state's response to the pandemic." Jane M Rooney, Durham University

"Makes a compelling case that the next pandemic and the actual threat of climate change need to be prepared through regulation....a must-read for any law and policy maker mindful about human rights and the rule of law." Oana Stefan King’s College London.

“As the second wave of COVID-19 and new (emergency) governmental measures draws ever nearer, this is a particularly timely book. Essential ready for those with legal and non-legal backgrounds alike!” Rumyana van Ark (nee Grozdanova), University of Amsterdam

"The first comprehensive legal review of an unprecedented global emergency – the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thought-provoking, clever and analytical and will become the source of inspiration for academics, lawyers, policy workers and everybody interested in law, human rights and politics." Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, University of Liverpool

"A powerful corrective to debates over emergency powers which have, all too often, treated crisis situations as being synonymous with war and terrorism.. brings a new understanding to the maintenance of human rights protections amid pandemic responses." Colin Murray, Newcastle Law School

Alan Greene is a senior lecturer in Law at the University of Birmingham. He specialises in the limits of constitutionalism, judicial review and the role of courts in vindicating the rule of law. He is the author of Permanent States of Emergency and the Rule of Law (Hart, 2018), the key text in the field.

Introduction

The Pandemic State of Emergency

Pandemics and Human Rights: Non-Derogable Rights

Pandemics and Human Rights: Derogable Rights

Pandemics and Democracy

The End of the Pandemic Emergency

Conclusions: Breathing Space