A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Covid-19 and Zambia’s Constitutional Dilemma
Authors: Phiri Christopher
Editors: Ebenezer Durojaye, Derek M. Powell
Publication year: 2022
Book title : Constitutional Resilience and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa
First page : 145
Last page: 178
ISBN: 978-3-031-06400-5
eISBN: 978-3-031-06401-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06401-2_4
Web address : https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-06401-2_4
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/177189053
Desperate times call for desperate measures. This holds true in times of public emergencies. Constitutionalism and the rule of law, however, impose limits on how the powers of government can be duly exercised even in the face of public emergencies. Focusing on the period March 2020 to March 2021, this chapter examines the response of the Zambian government to the Covid-19 pandemic through the lens of constitutionalism and the rule of law. It reveals that the response was exclusively executive-driven. Several measures which the executive introduced to contain the spread of Covid-19 had no legal basis, and enforcement was arbitrary. Parliamentary and judicial oversight was also largely absent. This saw apparent violations of human rights go without redress. This chapter ends with some general observations on what could be learnt from the experience during the period under examination, to facilitate constitutional resilience in the future.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |