International Criminal Law and Epidemic Viruses: A Case Study of Covid-19

Some parts of treaty and customary provisions of international law, forthe sake of protection of international public order, relate to individualcriminal liability. Hence, a new trend as international criminal law has beendeveloped. Rules of responsibility, whether in the area of criminalresponsibility or otherwise, are regarded as secondary ones. One of theimportant issues of international law, especially international human rightslaw, is "health". In this regard, rights for human beings and, consequently,duties for governments are envisaged. The prevalence of some diseases andviruses, especially Covid-19, has led to more attention being paid tointernational health law and its relevance to other areas of law. The presentpaper examines the relationship between international criminal law and thespread of pandemic viruses with emphasis on Covid-19. Examining therelationship between "health" and "international peace and security", "wellbeingof the world", and "international human rights", the authors tried todeal with the possibility of applying international criminal law in cases ofviolations of the right to health due to the spread of pandemic viruses.