The Applicability of International Disaster Relief Law to Situations of Public Health Emergency

Recent public health emergencies (PHEs) such as the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus 2020 have proved that no state can reasonably consider itself immune to the effects of health crises. In the wake of PHEs, in-country capacities are frequently overwhelmed by the prompted increase of needs and the urgency of processing them. It is within this context that the deployment of international relief operations (IROs) plays a substantive role. Up to 2021, there is no global legislative framework to govern the inflow of foreign relief operations in PHE settings on an international scale. This study argues that this void of regulation constitutes a legislative gap and thus explores venues to circumvent it. In doing so, this research examines the application of International Disaster Relief Law (IDRL) to PHEs. The study uses a socio-legal research methodology and, it undertakes the Model Emergency Decree for the Facilitation and Regulation of International Disaster Relief and Initial Recovery Assistance (2017) as the instrument of study. The research firstly assesses whether or to what extent the scope of the Model covers PHE situations and whether or to what extent the provisions of the document encompass the features of health crises. Following this analysis, the study puts forth a compendium of recommendations to accommodate the standing version of the Model (2017) to PHEs.

Alba Reina, M. (2022). The Applicability of International Disaster Relief Law to Situations of Public Health Emergency. IFHV Working Paper 12(3).