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Can the WHO’s study on COVID-19 underpin legal action against China?
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EUIdeas; Blogpost; 2021; [LAW]
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VIDELER, Mike, Can the WHO’s study on COVID-19 underpin legal action against China?, EUIdeas, Blogpost, 2021, [LAW] - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/69730
Abstract
For some time now, commentators have raised the possibility of international legal proceedings against China over COVID-19, in particular concerning its belated communication of COVID-related information to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in late 2019. On 14 January, a team of health experts commissioned by the WHO for a Global Study of the Origins of SARS-CoV-2 arrived in Wuhan, China, for a site visit and are currently in a two-week quarantine. While the Study has a scientific mission, it could also be significant for international adjudication. As I have argued elsewhere, if a state decides to file suit after negotiations and a settlement attempt by the World Health Assembly (the WHO’s decision-making body) have proved unsuccessful, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) would likely have jurisdiction pursuant to Article 75 of the WHO’s Constitution (Constitution). However, can such violations of international law also be proved?
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Published on 27 January 2021
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This blog post is part of a research project funded by an EUI Research Council grant.