Rethinking governance of public health emergencies aboard international cruise ships in the post-COVID era

Ke Li

Article ID: 7162
Vol 8, Issue 9, 2024

VIEWS - 92 (Abstract) 43 (PDF)

Abstract


The COVID-19 outbreak on international cruise ships during the early stages of the pandemic has exposed deficiencies in the governance of public health emergencies within the framework of existing international law. These deficiencies encompass various aspects, including the shortcomings of the system of flag state jurisdiction, the vague definition and reasonableness of governments’ “additional health measures” as stipulated in the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005, the role of World Health Organization (WHO) in the protection of the fundamental rights of passengers and crew members during epidemic outbreaks on cruise ships, the application of the free pratique rule under the international health law, and other challenges that have not been adequately addressed in current international law. In the post-COVID era, it is essential to revisit these core issues of international law and reassess the allocation of responsibilities among all evolving actors to foster effective multilateral cooperation in epidemic control. This paper adopts the “Diamond Princess” incident as a case study, examining how such public health emergencies pose challenges to international laws, particularly when they occur within the context of a cruise ship. The paper argues that cooperation on global health emergencies will continue to be a challenge until responsibility is more clearly allocated among stakeholders. Additionally, the paper formulates three principles for enhancing governmental cooperation, namely the fairness principle, the nationality principle, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. It is advisable to carefully consider these key principles when reevaluating the international laws on public health emergencies in the post-COVID era.


Keywords


public health emergencies; responsibilities; disease control; international cruise ships; global health governance

Full Text:

PDF


References


Belam, M. (2020). Cruise Ship Accounts for More Than Half of Virus Cases Outside China – As It Happened. The Guardian.

China Daily. (2020) 44 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases on ‘Diamond Princess’: Japan Faces Test Kit Shortage. Available online: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1658392428071967467&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed on 6 June 2024).

Clare, W. (2016). Ebola Responsibility: Moving from Shared to Multiple Responsibilities. Third World Quarterly, 436.

Court of Appeals of the State of New York. (1964). Babcock v Jackson. Court of Appeals of the State of New York.

Du, M. (2016). The Necessity Test in World Trade Law: What Now? Chin J Inter Law, 817.

Equasis-Ship folder. (n.d.). DIAMOND PRINCESS. Available online: https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/di-diamond-princess/ (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Hao, G. (2008). Development of Modern Cruise Industry and the Economic Benefits Brought by Cruise Terminals. Window on the World, 57.

Heymann, D. L. (2006). SARS and Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Challenge to Place Global Solidarity Above National Sovereignty. Annals Acad Med Singapore, 350.

Hu, W., Yan. Q., Zhao, L. (2011). Analysis on the Benefits from the Building of International Sanitary Port by Nansha Port Guangzhou. Chinese Journal of Frontier Health and Quarantine, 5 126.

ICISS. (2001). The Responsibility to Protect: Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Available online: https://www.idrc.ca/en/book/responsibility-protect-report-international-commission-intervention-and-state-sovereignty (accessed on 23 April 2023).

International Health Regulation. (2005a). Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241580410 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

International Health Regulation. (2005b). Core Capacity Requirements for Surveillance and Responses. Available online: https://www.who.int/csr/ihr/ihr2005.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023).

International Maritime Organization. (2020). Circular Letter No. 4204/Add.1. Available online: http://dmr.regs4ships.com/coronavirus.cfm?dm_t=0,0,0,0,0 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Japanese Economic News. (2020). It’s the Obligation of the ‘Flag State’ Not Japan. Available online: http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO55736490X10C20A2PP8000/ (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Japanese law translation. (1951). Quarantine Act. Available online: http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/law/detail/?id=2783&vm=&re= (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Kirchner, A. (2003). International Marine Environmental Law: Institution, implementation and innovation. Kluwer Law International.

Library of congress. (2020). Cabinet Order for Designating Novel Coronavirus Infection as a Type of Infectious Disease Under Article 34 of the Quarantine Act (Cabinet Order No. 28 of 2020). Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), ‘Global COVID-19 Outbreak Notice’.

LO Gostin and EA Friedman. (2013). Towards a Framework Convention on Global Health: A Transformative Agenda for Global Health Justice. Yale J Health Policy, Law and Ethics.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. (2020). Current status of new coronavirus infection and response by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (February 21, 2020 version) (Japanese). Available online: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_09690.html (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China. (2015). the Scheme for Planning the Distribution of Coastal Cruise Ship Ports Nationwide. Available online: https://xxgk.mot.gov.cn/2020/jigou/zhghs/202006/t20200630_3319575.html (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Mu, Y. (2008). Studies in Issues under International Law in Globalization. Peking University Press.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases. (2020). Field Briefing: Diamond Princess COVID-19 Cases. Available online: https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/2019-ncov-e/9407-covid-dp-fe-01.html (accessed on 23 April 2023).

New Beijing News. (2020). Completion of COVID-19 Test on Board ‘World Dream’: All Passengers Tested Negative for Coronavirus and Disembarked. Available online: https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1658120819363961070&wfr=spider&for=pc (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Privy council. (1883) Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China v The Netherlands India Steam Navigation Company, Limited. Available online: https://lawsuitcasefinder.com/casedetail?id=U2FsdGVkX18MioW6KOPTfqhaCvnG5zYNvBHqgwvUFEgMgs5 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Selvey, L. A., Antao, C., & Hall, R. (2015). Entry Screening for Infectious Diseases in Humans. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 21(2), 197-201.

Shao, S., Yu, M. (2002). Studies in Issues under International Law. Wuhan University Press.

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO). (2006). Maritime Labour Convention,2006. Available online: https://www.ilo.org/international-labour-standards/maritime-labour-convention-2006 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

UN General Assembly (UNGA). (1982). United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Available online: https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/unclos_e.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023).

UN tourism. (2020). A Lifeline for Small Island States: UNWTO Joins IMO to Highlight Importance of Cruise Tourism. Available online: https://www.unwto.org/news/unwto-and-imo-issue-join-to-support-safe-resumption-of-cruise-ship-operations (accessed on 23 April 2023).

United Nations. (1967). Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Available online: https://legal.un.org/ilc/texts/instruments/english/conventions/9_2_1963.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023).

United Nations. (2008). United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (the Rotterdam Rules). Available online: https://uncitral.un.org/en/texts/transportgoods/conventions/rotterdam_rules (accessed on 23 April 2023).

US’ CBS news. (2020). Americans from Coronavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship in Japan Arrive. Available online: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/coronavirus-china-outbreak-death-toll-infections-latest-updates-2020-02-17/ (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2011). Strengthening Response to Pandemics and Other Public Health Emergencies. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/strengthening-response-to-pandemics-and-other-public-health-emergencies (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2016). Handbook for Management of Public Health Events on Board Ships. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549462 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2018). Joint external evaluation tool: International Health Regulations (2005), 2nd ed. Available online: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550222. (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2020). Director-General: Cruise Ships Were Denied Entry to Ports by Several Countries Without an Evidence-based Risk Assessment. Available online: https://new.qq.com/omn/20200213/20200213V0FZE500.html (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2023). Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005). Available online: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA71/A71_7-en.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2017). International Health Regulations (2005) Monitoring Framework - Country Profiles’ (May 2018). Available online: http://apps.who.int/gho/tableau-public/tpc-frame.jsp?id=1100 (accessed on 23 April 2023).

WHO. (2022). International Health Regulations. Weekly Epidemiological Record = Relevé épidémiologique hebdomadaire, 58(‎19)‎, 146.

WHO. (2005). List of Ports and Other Information Submitted by the States Parties Concerning Ports Authorised to Issue Ship Sanitation Certificates under the IHR (2005). Available online: https://www.who.int/ihr/ports_airports/portslanding/en/ (accessed on 23 April 2023).

Xu, J. (2020). Number of Confirmed Cases is Increasing: Why Can the Passengers Not Disembark From ‘Diamond Princess. Sina Finance.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i9.7162

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Ke Li

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.