ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 global pandemic has challenged the ability of states throughout the world to respect and uphold certain human rights. Despite facing similar threats and assuming similar obligations under international and regional human rights mechanisms, the responses of European states has been inconsistent. Several European states have sought to treat the pandemic as an emergency situation and as a threat to the life of the nation, derogating from some of their human rights obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The United Kingdom has not taken this route, however, but instead has fast-tracked new legislation imposing drastic restrictions upon the public.
This chapter outlines the rationale and legal framework governing restrictions to human rights, including derogations, before examining the response of the Council of Europe and the various European states, including the United Kingdom, to ascertain what similarities and differences can be identified. The chapter explores the impact of recent emergency measures on the framework of derogations and other emergency measures in order to assess the efficacy of the supervision normally carried out by the Convention machinery. The impact on civil liberties and the enjoyment of human rights has been enormous and potentially damaging to the European Convention on Human Rights and judicial supervision of these measures. Consequently, clarity is required in these extraordinary times.
