The analysis of emergency measures: Protecting human rights and preventing social harms in the era of perpetual crises

Over the past decades, we have witnessed how a variety of crises (e.g., terrorist attacks, natural disasters, irregular migration, economic crises, and a global pandemic) were often treated by governments as existential threats to public order and safety. When trying to eliminate such threats, governments often relied on emergency measures that included the suspension of legal constraints and democratic principles in the name of re-establishing order. The frequent reliance on the state of emergency in recent years led many authors to contend that this form of government became the ""new normal"" in the governance of our societies. By focusing on emergency measures enacted to tackle four types of crises – that is, the Covid-19 pandemic, the fight against terrorism, the ""migration crisis,"" and economic crises – this research aims, on the one hand, to explore where and why emergency measures represent a risk for human rights and other fundamental values, while, on the other hand, to provide innovative solutions on how to better balance the negative and positive aspects of emergency measures. (1) Emergency measures and the Covid-19 pandemic: In this work package, we want – first – to provide a legal analysis of the constitutionality of governmental decrees enacted to contain the spread of the virus in Slovenia and, where needed, to compare those decrees with similar acts in other European countries. We want to determine whether emergency powers were used in line with human rights standards or abused and illegally prolonged beyond what was necessary. Second, we want to generate new knowledge on how the emergency regulatory response to the Covid-19 crisis undermined key democratic principles. And third, we want to examine how emergency measures to contain the virus adversely affected the mental health of the elderly, the youth, and healthcare workers. (2) Emergency measures in the ""war against terrorism: This work package will focus on counterterrorism emergency measures at the international level to examine how the United States (US) exempted itself from the international framework of law by either redefining or ignoring some key concepts of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Moreover, the research aims to explore which States, both US allies and non-allies, adopted similar exceptional counterterrorism measures as the US and thus created broader support for a new legal regime that undermined the existing international order. (3) Emergency measures and the ""migration crisis: This work package will focus on how emergency measures were used to prevent irregular migration to the European Union (EU). We intend to assess the potential of international human rights law to restrain the use of emergency measures by the EU States when they face the influx of a large number of migrants. Using case studies such as the human rights responsibility of EU States when acting at their borders or open seas, we will explore how far international human rights law can go in preventing the exercise of sovereignty that bars access to asylum procedures. (4) Emergency measures in economic crises: This work package will – first – provide a historical analysis of economic crises to determine to what extent are crises and the emergency measures invoked to solve such crises, a permanent feature of the capitalist system. Second, we will explore the impact of emergency measures enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. In particular, we will examine how these emergency measures impacted the economic well-being of the most marginalized strata of society. The project's overall objective is to explore relevant theoretical concepts and practices linked to the state of emergency to provide the academic community, policymakers, and the public at large with recommendations on how better to evaluate the risks and benefits of specific emergency measures.