The Criminal Justice Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic in the Health Regulations of GCC Countries
Dr. Mohammad N. AL-fawareh
Associate Professor of Criminal Law – Faculty of Law – University of Jordan
Dr. Abdullah M. Ehjelah
Assistant Professor of Criminal Law – Faculty of Law – Yarmouk University
Abstract:
As the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) overwhelmingly hegemonizes headlines worldwide, and as the whole globe obsesses over the disease, this research comes to address an important aspect in the fight against the pandemic; namely on the criminal-justice forefront. This research focuses on the criminal-justice response to the pandemic under the health regulations in GCC countries. It aims to illustrate the position of such regulation’s vis-a-vis acts that jeopardize the safety of others; particularly abstinence from reporting cases, subjecting others to infection, or infecting others. The research sheds light on the positions of these regulations in proactive criminalization with a view to detecting cases, and preventive criminalization with a view to preventing its spread.
The research concludes a number of findings; most notably the contrast between GCC legislators in criminalizing acts within the context of Covid-19 counter efforts. It appears that some GCC regulations are lacking punitive treatment for such acts, while others have imposed penalties disproportionally to the magnitude of the act or potential ramifications thereof. The researcher offers a number of recommendations for GCC legislators, which aim generally at addressing the flaws or bridge the gaps in some punitive provisions under the health regulations set specifically to counter communicable or infectious diseases, such as Covid-19.
Keywords: crime, Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), abstinence, reporting, infected case, transmission, subjecting others to infection, communicable (infectious) diseases.