The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights: Collective research project

Abstract

Europe is characterised by developed liberal democracies that put a strong emphasis on the protection of human rights. Since the 1950's, no major political or economic event has put in question the commitment of the European Union or the Member States to upholding the rule of law and to protecting fundamental human rights. The COVID-19 pandemic presented the first major challenge to these commitments. Despite the existing network of rules protecting human rights, it is undisputed that this network has been undermined by the governmental actions taken in response to the pandemic. This publication is the result of a coordinated research effort by Frederick University academic staff to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights through doctrinal, comparative, multidisciplinary and empirical research. In particular, the book addresses the following issues: the pandemic as a major challenge for women's working life in the EU; digital transformation in the COVID-19 era; privacy vs public health in the case of COVID-19 tracing apps; effects of the pandemic crisis on general population mental health; employee rights during pandemic in social sciences; the impact of the pandemic on shipping; how criminal law helps to tackle the pandemic; corruption risks in public procurement in the context of COVID-19; and the continuous mutation of the raised issues among pandemic, law and the state.