The rule of law as the perimeter of legitimacy for COVID-19 responses

This chapter examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on governance and legal systems, and evaluates the actions taken by governments in response to the health crisis against the standards of the rule of law. Identifying concerning trends in executive aggrandisement and rule of law backsliding, it argues how practices undermining the rule of law also undermine effective pandemic response. It advocates a way forward for governance during and following the health emergency, building on lessons to be learned on how best to formulate policy and design the most effective legal measures which can be gleaned from collective global experience. Improving both the quality of law and the use of law can bolster public trust in governance which is, itself, an essential element in the most effective strategies in response to the pandemic. However, such adherence rests on a balance between accountable and rationalised executive decision-making, and the active scrutiny and review of the legislature and the judiciary.