Preface

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. Democratic societies are guided by the principles of liberty and equality while aiming to protect and promote the welfare of their citizens. As the first COVID-19 response measures were introduced across Europe, we began to reflect on how effective pandemic management could be reconciled with upholding fundamental human rights, including the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. This reflection led us to explore pandemic-related policies in various countries, their legitimacy, and the public’s acceptance of them. From this exploration, a central research question emerged that guided our work: What defines a proportionate response to a public health crisis such as a pandemic? Now, over five years after the first reported COVID-19 cases, we are both humbled and proud to present this book, which provides an unprecedented international and interdisciplinary perspective on proportionality as a guiding principle in public health law, ethics, and policy. Reflecting on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, we intend this book to offer a thorough and balanced analysis that can provide public health responses to future crises. It emphasizes the urgent need to protect vulnerable and underserved populations while critically assessing the actions taken by policymakers and healthcare systems around the globe. The chapters in this book tackle the intricate challenge of applying proportionality in public health through an analysis of ethical, legal, and social implications in a variety of contexts. Each chapter was rigorously reviewed by two independent experts, whose insightful critiques and constructive feedback were crucial to shaping the final outcome of this work. In particular, we would like to thank Fayez Abdulrazeq, Roberto Andorno, Richmond Aryeetey, Steffen Augsberg, Yaniv Benamou, Michael Birnhack, Iris Canor, Sara Meg Davis, Lena Gloeckler, Sophie Gloeckler, Joelle Grogan, Dirk Hanschel, Tsung-Ling Lee, Ken Laidlaw, Valerie Luyckx, Els Maeckelberghe, Stephen Molldrem, Maria del Rocio Franch, Alicia Navarro de Souza, Inge van Nistelrooij, Rouven Porz, Bernhard Rütsche, Owen Schaefer, Jana Sedlakova, Emilio J. Sanz, José Maria Serna de la Garza, Jan Schwarz, Sharifa Sekalala, Lorraine Smith, Vitalii Stetsyk, Paulina Tindana, Pedro A. Villarreal, and Nesa Zimmermann for their contributions. Our sincere thanks go to Leticia Andorno for her invaluable work on formal editing and to Sophie Gloeckler and April Ball for their careful language editing. Their contributions have been crucial in shaping this manuscript. This project owes much to the workshop and symposium organized by Tania Manríquez Roa and Jennifer Hasselgard-Rowe, where many key ideas first emerged. We extend our sincere thanks to them. We also wish to acknowledge Emily Benitez, Sarah Humphreville, and Andrea Smith of Oxford University Press as well as Abishayareddy Vijaybabu and her colleagues, for their guidance and support throughout this process. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Universities of Geneva and Zurich, provided through the UNIGE-UZH Joint Funding for Collaboration in Research and Teaching under the Call 2021—“Shaping Resilient and Responsive Societies and Ecosystems in View of Global Crises.” This funding was essential in enabling the research and collaboration that form the foundation of this book. Finally, we thank all those who shared their knowledge, time, and encouragement. This book is a result of collective effort, and we are profoundly grateful for all the contributions that have made it possible.