The Covid-19 Litigation Project is the result of a synergy between a group of judges and scholars and the Faculty of Law of Trento, with the financial support of the World Health Organization. It is the first international database where information on litigation related to public health interventions undertaken in different countries of the world to fight the pandemic are systematically collected and analyzed.
An organized catalog, available online in open access mode, in which to consult disputes related to the adoption of public health measures at regional, national or sub-national level. A concrete help for judges and magistrates in the front line to determine the legitimacy of public health measures decided by states to deal with covid-19. They use law to balance health protection with other fundamental rights, and to ensure rationality, reasonableness, and proportionality of government interventions. Universities and research centers from Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia are participating in the project.
The health crisis has confronted governments with unprecedented challenges for the protection of life and safety and has placed them in front of the need to make choices, often tragic ones, balancing different rights and fundamental freedoms" explains Paola Iamiceli, a UniTrento professor and coordinator of the international project.
The cases are identified through an international network of judges and scholars built ad hoc, with the support of public databases and cross-sectional and extensive media research. A crowd sourcing tool has also been activated to allow a wider involvement of the community. The project website (www.covidlitigation.org) will host a channel dedicated to the reporting of cases by users of the database. The database will be continuously updated to reflect developments in the law in each jurisdiction.