Law in crisis: a critical analysis of the role of law in China’s fight against COVID-19

Abstract

This article analyses the role(s) of law in several critical aspects in China’s fight against COVID-19 during the period of its initial outbreak in Wuhan in late 2019 and early 2020. It first provides an analytic framework on the existing laws on the prevention and control of infectious diseases and responses to public health emergencies, focusing on the relevant mechanisms, institutions and procedures under the law. It then analyses several critical aspects of the operation of the legal framework, including information disclosure, the management of the crisis, and the legality of the various post lockdown measures and practices. It reveals that few legal requirements were in fact complied with during the fight against the COVID-19 emergency and, as such, Chinese law in a time of crisis was indeed itself in crisis.