The COVID-19 Pandemic and the European Court of Human Rights â The Grand Chamber Decision in CommunautÃ© Genevoise Dâaction Syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland

Ronagh McQuigg

Jump to Content

Chapter 6 The COVID-19 Pandemic and the European Court of Human Rights â The Grand Chamber Decision in CommunautÃ© Genevoise Dâaction Syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland

In: European Yearbook on Human Rights 2024

Author:

Ronagh McQuigg

Ronagh McQuigg
Search for other papers by Ronagh McQuigg in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 169â187

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004708389_007

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

â¬42.00â¬35.00Â excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Abstract

This contribution addresses the highly significant and current area of the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, focussing specifically on the new jurisprudence emerging from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court). During the pandemic, States had a duty to protect the lives of their citizens and adopted a range of measures with this aim. However, questions arise concerning the extent to which other rights were restricted and whether an appropriate balance was struck. Such issues give rise to complex questions, as is acutely demonstrated by the fact that CommunautÃ© genevoise dâaction syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland, one of the earliest cases relating to the restrictions put in place by a State in response to the pandemic in which the Court issued a judgment on the merits, was referred to the Grand Chamber, which adopted a dramatically different approach from that of the Chamber, which itself had been sharply divided. Overall, this paper argues that in order to preserve the legitimacy of human rights law the Court must remain cautious of finding breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in cases involving public restrictions applied for the purpose of protecting life and health in response to a global pandemic.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004708389/BP000007.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

European Yearbook on Human Rights 2024

Series:Â European Yearbook on Human Rights, Volume: 1

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004708389

Publisher:: Brill | Nijhoff

Print Publication Date:: 07 Mar 2025

Subjects
- Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
  - Human Rights
- International Law
  - International Law: Regional Perspectives

Front Matter

Part 1 Human Rights Developments in EUROPE and Beyond

Part 2 Jurisprudence by the Courts

Back Matter

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	159	81	10
Full Text Views	1	1	0
PDF Views & Downloads	8	6	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Chapter 6 The COVID-19 Pandemic and the European Court of Human Rights â The Grand Chamber Decision in CommunautÃ© Genevoise Dâaction Syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

European Yearbook on Human Rights 2024

Table of Contents

Metrics

Metrics

Chapter 6 The COVID-19 Pandemic and the European Court of Human Rights â The Grand Chamber Decision in CommunautÃ© Genevoise Dâaction Syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland