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Law and Global Health (LAWS70151)
Graduate coursework level 7Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
Overview
Availability(Quotas apply) | April |
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The importance of health to the functioning of societies has never been more apparent than it is today. Nor has the global nature of health. Today’s major risks to health are global in nature, including the rapid spread of pathogens across borders in our highly interconnected world, and the commercial practices of multinational corporations that market harmful products. These health risks cannot be combated without international cooperation, including in preventing / limiting the spread of pathogens and regulating harmful commercial practices.
Law – at all levels, from international to national and sub-national – has a fundamental role to play in global health. It can be among the most powerful tools for protecting and promoting health, but it can also fall well short of achieving its potential, or even actively contribute to harm, if poorly designed or implemented, of where it pursues other policy objectives in ways that conflict with those of health.
This subject is called ‘Law and global health’ rather than ‘Global health law’. This reflects the reality that, while there are a range of international instruments (including both legally binding and non-legally binding) that are specifically designed to protect and promote global health, global health can be equally influenced by international instruments across diverse areas such as human rights, climate change and environment, animal health, intellectual property, international trade, and international investment. While the subject will focus primarily on the instruments and organisations that are explicitly dedicated to health, it will examine the critical connections with other relevant areas of law, policy and practice.
The subject will cover both communicable diseases (including pandemics such as COVID-19, and the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance) and non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease).
Principal topics will include:
- An introduction to global health priorities, including infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, climate change and antimicrobial resistance
- Global health narratives, concepts and approaches
- An introduction to the World Health Organization
- Global governance of infectious diseases, including the International Health Regulations (2005) and the proposed new treaty on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
- Global governance of noncommunicable diseases, particularly the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as well as international approaches to addressing alcohol use and unhealthy diets
- An overview of trade, investment, intellectual property and health
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject should be able to:
- Critically reflect on major current global health priorities, and of major narratives in, and approaches to, global health, including social determinants of health, universal health coverage, human rights, health security, One Health, and commercial determinants of health
- Identify and distinguish between the powers, responsibilities and limitations of international organisations, and recognise the ways in which the mandates and work of a wide range of international organisations are relevant to global health
- Examine and explain the role of international instruments in protecting and promoting global health
- Investigate and appraise the ways in which international instruments that are specifically dedicated to global health interact with a wide range of other international instruments and regimes, and some of the legal and practical implications of these interactions
- Critically appraise the major roles that a wide range of actors play in global health
Last updated: 30 May 2024