As of late, globalization has been affecting the legal system concerning prevention and management of infectious diseases, and the relevant legal system has been seeking various regulatory strategies. Due to the limits of World Health Organization(WHO...
As of late, globalization has been affecting the legal system concerning prevention and management of infectious diseases, and the relevant legal system has been seeking various regulatory strategies. Due to the limits of World Health Organization(WHO)’s International Health Regulations (IHR) on systematic response and effective international cooperation, the other relevant international norms, such as international trade law, international human rights law and international environmental law have simultaneously worked on the common agenda of prevention and management of infection diseases. In this regard, the article begins by reviewing the sources of international law regarding prevention and management of infectious diseases (Chapter Ⅱ ); then reviews key provisions of the 「 IHR 2005 」 and Constitution of the WHO, which are general treaties in regulation against infectious diseases (Chapter Ⅲ ), then discusses the relationship between the 「 IHR 2005 」 and the other relevant international norms, WTO Agreements ( Ⅴ ) in particular, and in conclusion, analyzes and suggests a rule-harmonized approach for the mutual balance and complement between the 「 IHR 2005 」 and other relevant international laws.
The 「 IHR 2005 」 , a principal international health law per se, is not a complete legal system, though it is highly regarded as an innovative approach sharply distinguished from past classical/conventional international health regime. Accordingly, it undoubtedly needs to review the relationship between
「 IHR 2005 」 and other relevant international laws in order to increase 「 IHR 2005 」 ’s legal completeness and synergism between the two. In this respect, it should be noted that new notion of human security has recently emerged, extending the boundaries of traditional notion of security and emphasizing protection of individuals, such as from spread of infectious diseases, rather than State itself.
Consequently, in the author’s opinion, the introduction of the notion of human security with an important global health security component will be a legally necessary approach to not only compensate the defect but also increase the legal completeness of the 「 IHR 2005 」 . In addition, such approach will be a legally effective method to secure a legal basis for cooperation and collective response of the international community. In conclusion, with regards to the issues of infectious diseases’ international spread and their prevention and management, the 「 IHR 2005 」 and other relevant international laws should be interpreted and applied based on the notion of global health security, an approach that can partly contribute to refining 「 IHR 2005 」 ’s imperfections.
Furthermore, this approach will be compatible with the implementation and interpretation principles of the 「 IHR 2005 」 , as well as with the ‘primacy of the obligations under the Charter of the United Nations’.