Law

Measures against covid-19: a return to the rule of law?

^Germany

by Kurt Scherrer

(15 February 2021) For the first time, due to a lawsuit in Thuringia, a German district court has taken a position on the measures against covid-19 that have been adopted so far. At the centre of the proceedings, the Weimar District Court had to assess the legal basis of the measures imposed to combat covid-19 adopted in spring 2020 and thus their legality and proportionality. The judgement was eagerly awaited, as it was the first time that various officially decreed measures and restrictions, up to national directives of the German federal government, were subject to legal scrutiny following a citizen's complaint. It was therefore a matter for the court to assess the extent to which the decisions of the authorities were compatible with the freedoms and rights of citizens constitutionally guaranteed in a liberal and democratic constitutional state. The landmark judgment was published on 11 January 2021 and aroused a great deal of interest among the persons concerned because of its detailed justifications and unusually clear language. Is it any wonder that it has so far had little coverage in the major private and public media?

A New Health Order for the World

A post-Covid social contract vs. «The Great Reset»

by Professor Dr.iur. et phil. Alfred de Zayas, Geneva School of Diplomacy

Many political scientists, economists, lawyers, historians, journalists and civil society activists have come to realize that the post-Covid world should not merely “pick up where we left off”, but actually requires a new social contract, one that will have better budgetary priorities, place people over profits, adopt concrete measures to advance equality and social justice. International solidarity and emergency preparedness must be strengthened to jointly face global challenges. Resuming “business as usual” is not an option. The crisis we are suffering and the pathetic mismanagement by many countries is the direct result of failed neo-liberal policies that must be revisited and corrected if the planet is going to survive.