Too Important for the Bureaucrats: Rethinking Risk and Regulatory Presumptions in Times of Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 249-263
Author(s):  
James Toomey
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
Specific Instance ◽  
New Drug ◽  
Normative Principle ◽  
Context Specific

The posture of American regulation of medicine is negative—we assume that a new drug is unsafe and ineffective until it is proven safe and effective.1 This regulatory posture is a heuristic normative principle, a specific instance of the so-called precautionary principle in public health law.2 It is defensible, if debatable, in many ordinary circumstances.3 But like many normative heuristics, this negative posture may compel suboptimal decision-making in emergencies, where context-specific decisions must be made and a range of unique values may apply.

Guidelines for Reviewing National Public Health Law

Medicne pravo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Andre den Exter ◽  
◽  
Alexey Goryainov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
National Public Health

Synergising International Public Health Law and International Disaster Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Pratik DIXIT
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Response Strategies ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
International Public Health ◽  
Health Regulations

There is no time more opportune to review the workings of the International Health Regulations (IHR) than the present COVID-19 crisis. This article analyses the theoretical and practical aspects of international public health law (IPHL), particularly the IHR, to argue that it is woefully unprepared to protect human rights in times of a global public health crisis. To rectify this, the article argues that the IHR should design effective risk reduction and response strategies by incorporating concepts from international disaster law (IDL). Along similar lines, this article suggests that IDL also has a lot to learn from IPHL in terms of greater internationalisation and institutionalisation. Institutionalisation of IDL on par with IPHL will provide it with greater legitimacy, transparency and accountability. This article argues that greater cross-pollination of ideas between IDL and IPHL is necessary in order to make these disciplines more relevant for the future.

Public Health Law Research

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Ibrahim ◽  
Scott Burris ◽  
Scott Hays
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Public Health Law

Educating the New Public Health Law Professional

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (S1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Davis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Societal Issues ◽  
New Public Health ◽  
New Public

This article outlines the author's experience designing and implementing an asynchronous online course. Designed as a complement to public health law externships at any location, the course addresses professionalism and strategic lawyering. The article further describes the author's fellowship journey, which emboldened her view that faculty must attempt to live the expectations we have for our students, and also declare our professional values, especially when teaching about policymaking which is fraught with values conflicts. It concludes with a call for others to pilot innovative teaching approaches to address both the crisis in legal education and pressing societal issues, thereby contributing to the health of our legal community.

Public Health Law: Power, Duty and Restraint

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-337
Author(s):  
V. Harpwood
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Public Health Law

New Developments in Public Health Case Law

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (S4) ◽  
pp. 86-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Smith Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Great Frequency ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Public Health Law ◽  
New Developments

In recent years, public health law has seen some important court decisions. Those are presented below.In Pelman v. McDonaldS Corporation, the court dismissed a complaint filed by three children who claimed that McDonald’s practices in making and selling its products were deceptive. This deception, the children alleged, caused them to consume McDonald’s products with great frequency and become obese, thereby injuring their health. The plaintiffs pled five causes of action against McDonald’s, alleging that McDonald’s: 1) failed to adequately disclose the ingredients and health effects of its products and described their food as nutritious without disclosing detrimental health effects; 2) engaged in marketing techniques geared toward inducing children to consume their products; 3) acted negligently in selling foods high in fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar when studies show that foods containing these ingredients cause obesity and detrimental health effects; 4) failed to warn consumers of the quantity and qualities of levels of fat, cholesterol, salt, and sugar in its products or of the detrimental health effects of such foods; and 5) acted negligently in marketing foods that were physically and psychologically addictive.

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