Coronavirus and the Law in Europe

On 30 January 2020, in response to the globalisation of the coronavirus and COVID19, the World Health Organisation declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The deadly outbreak has caused unprecedented disruption to travel and trade and is raising pressing legal questions across all disciplines, which this edited collection of essays attempts to address. The aims of this project are twofold. It is intended to serve as a “toolbox” for domestic and European judges. These will soon be dealing with the interpretation of coronavirus- and COVID19-related legislation and administrative measures, as well as the disruption the pandemic has caused on society and fundamental rights. Additionally, this project is aimed at assisting businesses and citizens, who wish to be informed about the implications of the virus in the existence, performance, and enforcement of their contracts. This academic endeavour is probably the largest academic publication on the impact of the referred pandemics in the law. It consists of a joint, collaborative effort of structuring the recent and ongoing legal developments into a coherent and pan-European overview on coronavirus and the law. It covers practically all European countries and legal disciplines and comprises of chapters from more than sixty highly reputed European academics. The project has been implemented with the valuable assistance of Wojciech Banczyk (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), Yannic Duller (University of Vienna), Sophia Fida (University of Vienna), Tomás Gabriel García-Micó (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona), Ignacio García-Perrote Martínez (Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona), Henriikka Malmi (Maastricht University), Katarzyna Poludniak-Gierz (Jagiellonian University, Cracow), Giuseppe Portonera (Catholic University del Sacro Cuore, Milan), Carlo Rusconi (Catholic University del Sacro Cuore, Milan), Francesco Zecchin (Catholic University del Sacro Cuore, Milan), Laura Zsarnai (Maastricht University)