ABSTRACT
This chapter evaluates the response of the law and the judicial system to the Covid-19 pandemic as a disruptive reality. It highlights the ways in which the pandemic challenged the institutional setup and the legislative frameworks previously set up in states around the globe in order to contain the spread of contagious diseases, as well as the established tenets of constitutional adjudication in reviewing the constitutionality of the regulatory response. In evaluating the implications of the pandemic for judicial review, it addresses the procedural challenges - notably concerning the issues of standing and reviewability of acts no longer in force - as well as the substantive challenges related to the standards of constitutionality review, notably as concerns the possible adjustments to the requirements of the principles of legality and proportionality required by the particular circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis allows for a cautiously optimistic assessment of the law’s and judiciary’s aptitude for, and the role in, crafting and supervising an effective pandemic response.
