Recht in der Krise

How does the law react to real crises and what is the problem-solving power of legal regulation in difficult situations? Conversely, do crises also have an impact on how the law works – and should they have one at all? In the XXIII. Volume of the APARIUZ publication series, young researchers from the University of Zurich from different legal areas deal with how the law deals with crises. The starting point for reflections on the interplay between crises and law is not only the corona pandemic, but also a wide variety of other situations that encourage - or force - criticism and rethinking.Wie reagiert das Recht auf reale Krisen und worin liegt die Problemlösungskraft rechtlicher Regulierung in schwierigen Situationen? Haben umgekehrt auch Krisen einen Einfluss darauf, wie das Recht funktioniert – und sollten sie überhaupt einen haben? Im XXIII. Band der Schriftenreihe APARIUZ setzen sich Nachwuchswissenschaftler*innen der Universität Zürich aus unterschiedlichen Rechtsbereichen mit dem Umgang des Rechts mit Krisen auseinander. Ausgangspunkt für Reflexionen über das Wechselspiel zwischen Krisen und Recht bildet dabei nicht nur die Corona-Pandemie, sondern auch verschiedenste andere Situationen, die zu Kritik und Umdenken anspornen – oder zwingen

Recht in der Krise

How does the law react to real crises and what is the problem-solving power of legal regulation in difficult situations? Conversely, do crises also have an impact on how the law works – and should they have one at all? In the XXIII. Volume of the APARIUZ publication series, young researchers from the University of Zurich from different legal areas deal with how the law deals with crises. The starting point for reflections on the interplay between crises and law is not only the corona pandemic, but also a wide variety of other situations that encourage - or force - criticism and rethinking

Les ordonnances d’urgence du Conseil fédéral: quels enjeux constitutionnels?

Depuis quelque mois, les ordonnances d’urgence du Conseil fédéral et la séparation des pouvoirs ont fait l'objet d'un vif débat politique et médiatique. Plusieurs interventions parlementaires ont été déposées, et le Parlement fédéral vient d’accepter la Loi Covid-19 dans sa session d'automne. Soumettons donc ce débat à une appréciation juridique et nous rappelons la base et les limites constitutionnelles du droit d’urgence en Suisse

Democracy in times of the pandemic: explaining the variation of COVID-19 policies across European democracies

In fighting the spread of COVID-19, the drastic measures undertaken by governments worldwide demonstrate a trade-off between public health and fundamental democratic principles. Yet this behaviour is not consistent across democracies, which motivates this paper to examine why some democracies were willing to constrain individual freedoms and concentrate power more than others during the pandemic’s first wave. Creating two indices to measure the degree to which COVID-19 policies interfere with these democratic principles in 34 European countries, the analyses show that the large variation cannot be solely explained by pandemic-related factors. It is argued that the strong protection of democratic principles already established in ‘normal’ times makes governments more reluctant to opt for restrictive policies. By highlighting how differences in policy responses are attributed to provisions guaranteeing individual liberties, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how democracies handle the democratic dilemma in times of crises