Interrogating the imposition of restrictions law during the covid-19 pandemic in Ghana

Abstract

The world was confronted with both legal and political issues after the announcement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11, 2020 of COVID-19 as a pandemic. The declaration led many national governments to implement restrictions to combat the spread of the disease and also to enable them make preparations for the health systems to deal with the emergency on hand. Even though, fundamentally the COVID-19 pandemic is seen as a public health emergency, it has presented a challenge to human rights and the rule of law, which are all crucial in times of national crisis. In Ghana, the government enacted the Imposition of Restrictions law together with other Executive Instruments to enable it deal with the crisis. The need to strike a balance between the public health emergency and the rule of law has led many advocates to question the constitutionality of the legislation that was introduced during the pandemic. This paper aims at interrogating the legitimacy of these laws and whether the government could have explored other available alternatives in dealing with the pandemic, than promulgating a new legislation.