ABSTRACT
The role of domestic law in public health is complex. Given the range of factors that determine health, the laws which impinge on public health will themselves be various. Very little law is completely divorced from health. Criminal law has implications for the harm which results from crime; laws on the workplace, transport, the building industry, education or discrimination look to health and welfare; laws on negligence and contract have as objectives safety standards and deterrence; even laws regulating financial transactions will have consequences for health. Categorising that body of law which regulates public health is therefore as difficult as the task of defining public health.
