16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics

Adopting a theory of rights-based risk ethics, this chapter develops the criteria of justified and unjustified risk impositions in connection with infectious diseases like COVID-19 and highlights the moral rights and duties of individuals and governments during a COVID-19-like disease epidemic or pa...

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Główni autorzy: Steigleder, Klaus, Göbel, Marie, Richter, Philipp
Format: Online
Język:angielski
Wydane: Edward Elgar Publishing 2026
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Dostęp online:https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171023
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author Steigleder, Klaus
Göbel, Marie
Richter, Philipp
author_browse Göbel, Marie
Richter, Philipp
Steigleder, Klaus
author_facet Steigleder, Klaus
Göbel, Marie
Richter, Philipp
author_sort Steigleder, Klaus
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Adopting a theory of rights-based risk ethics, this chapter develops the criteria of justified and unjustified risk impositions in connection with infectious diseases like COVID-19 and highlights the moral rights and duties of individuals and governments during a COVID-19-like disease epidemic or pandemic. According to any plausible rights-based moral theory, all people possess equal rights to the preconditions necessary for being able to lead their lives. The rights form a hierarchy, are both negative and positive, and include the right to their effective protection. Indispensable for this are territorial states which must prioritise the protection of the rights of their own citizens. The basic criterion for evaluating and balancing risks is the proportionality of the effects of the permission or prohibition of risk impositions on the ability to act of both agents and recipients. A special focus is laid on life-threatening risks. The protection of the right to life of the members of certain risk groups only justifies proportional restrictions of the ability to lead their lives of people who are not members of the risk groups. In the face of scarce medical resources, decisions how to use these resources effectively and fairly must not be avoided. As infectious disease pandemics severely affect the rights of people, there are strong obligations (especially of rich countries) to take measures to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases from becoming pandemics.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1710232026-01-22T15:56:10Z 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics Steigleder, Klaus Göbel, Marie Richter, Philipp Rights-based risk ethics; Risk; COVID-19; Pandemic; Human rights; Negative and positive rights; Permissible risk imposition; Prevention LAB PSAD GBC Adopting a theory of rights-based risk ethics, this chapter develops the criteria of justified and unjustified risk impositions in connection with infectious diseases like COVID-19 and highlights the moral rights and duties of individuals and governments during a COVID-19-like disease epidemic or pandemic. According to any plausible rights-based moral theory, all people possess equal rights to the preconditions necessary for being able to lead their lives. The rights form a hierarchy, are both negative and positive, and include the right to their effective protection. Indispensable for this are territorial states which must prioritise the protection of the rights of their own citizens. The basic criterion for evaluating and balancing risks is the proportionality of the effects of the permission or prohibition of risk impositions on the ability to act of both agents and recipients. A special focus is laid on life-threatening risks. The protection of the right to life of the members of certain risk groups only justifies proportional restrictions of the ability to lead their lives of people who are not members of the risk groups. In the face of scarce medical resources, decisions how to use these resources effectively and fairly must not be avoided. As infectious disease pandemics severely affect the rights of people, there are strong obligations (especially of rich countries) to take measures to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases from becoming pandemics. Published 2026-01-22T15:56:08Z 2026-01-22T15:56:08Z 2025-12-05 chapter 9781788116671 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171023 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/research-handbook-on-law-governance-and-bioethics-9781788116664.html https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap-oa/book/9781788116671/chapter16.xml Edward Elgar Publishing Edward Elgar Publishing 10.4337/9781788116671.00024 10.4337/9781788116671.00024 01ceac28-75b4-492a-8eec-f9b98bc6b28c https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ 9781788116671 Edward Elgar Publishing Cheltenham, UK open access
spellingShingle Rights-based risk ethics; Risk; COVID-19; Pandemic; Human rights; Negative and positive rights; Permissible risk imposition; Prevention
LAB
PSAD
GBC
Steigleder, Klaus
Göbel, Marie
Richter, Philipp
16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title_full 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title_fullStr 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title_full_unstemmed 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title_short 16: Rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
title_sort 16 rights and duties in and regarding communicable disease epidemics and pandemics
topic Rights-based risk ethics; Risk; COVID-19; Pandemic; Human rights; Negative and positive rights; Permissible risk imposition; Prevention
LAB
PSAD
GBC
topic_facet Rights-based risk ethics; Risk; COVID-19; Pandemic; Human rights; Negative and positive rights; Permissible risk imposition; Prevention
LAB
PSAD
GBC
url https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171023
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