COVID-19 and International Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities from the Perspective of Good Governance and the Rule of Law

Abstract

Almost two years since the COVID-19 outbreak, the extreme pressure put by the pandemic on legal systems worldwide cannot be ignored. Governments have struggled to adapt existing legislative frameworks, administrative functions, and executive decision-making to the fast-changing and complex situation of the pandemic emergency. In the case of International Organizations (IOs), the crisis, involving disruptions of daily activities, as well as of core civil, political, economic and social rights, has put to test their everyday operations, often questioning their ability to realize their mandate. Although the pandemic is far from left behind and the lessons learnt may not be fully captured yet this special Forum comes at a critical moment in time and serves as an “along the way’ assessment of the challenges encountered, and the solutions implemented. As governments and IOs (slowly) resume their activities and prepare to go back to normal operation modes, an assessment of what has been done so far and of the responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic, is a precious exercise for the purpose of identifying areas, activities and approaches allowing IOs to play a better role in cases of public (health) emergencies comparable to COVID-19. The Forum discusses