RAPID: COVID-19 and Suspensions of Law

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH

Investigators

Abstract

The global response to COVID-19 provides a rare opportunity to study suspensions of law in response to public emergencies across multiple societies over the same time period. The project will assess utility of law suspension as a way to limit the negative impact of a public emergency, specifically in reducing COVID-19 transmission. It will be one of the first to examine widespread law suspensions across countries where the suspensions are used to address the same public emergency (i.e., COVID-19). The project will identify whether legal suspensions matter to COVID-19 transmission, while identifying which laws, when suspended, have little impact. Factors that shape effective reduction of COVID-19 will be identified, as well as impacts on transmission when law suspensions cease. This project will provide critical guidance for decision makers who must balance public health against other considerations. Proper crisis response should advance health and welfare, promote scientific programs, and contribute to national security. The purpose of this project is to assess the utility of suspensions of law (derogation) for preventing or reducing COVID-19 transmission. The project will model and assess socio-legal responses to COVID-19—specifically, emergency measures that suspend laws. Three qualities of derogation will be assessed: what laws are suspended, the degree to which laws are suspended, and duration of derogation. Reinstatement of derogation will be assessed according to the same three qualities. This project will gather data, operationalize and calibrate the data, establish a dataset, conduct analyses, and disseminate results, the dataset, and GIS map. The data will be analyzed to compare whether combinations of conditions, such as moderate degrees of legal limitations combined with strong health infrastructures, reduce degrees of virus transmission and promote prevention. This project will examine whether derogation is applied to specific social groups and what features shape use of derogation. The project will identify tipping points when transmission increases or decreases and the combinations of derogation and socio-legal factors for which transmission increases or decreases. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.