Abstract

MACAT, Susana. The Government and the Pandemic: Between Duty and Responsibility . Temas debates (En línea) [online]. 2020, n.40, suppl.1, pp.335-341. ISSN 1853-984X.

The power and duty of the Government to preserve the health of the population can be traced back to ancient times. Prestigious writers of administrative law have given examples of that. Public health and sanitation are part of one of the three categories of what is known as “police power” of the Government, which must not be confused with the security police, but refers to the authority to restrict the rights of the citizens to protect public safety, health and morale. It is important to note that these three categories refer to the most restrictive interpretation of the police power, which is known as “narrow” and is linked to a liberal. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has renewed this intervention, as it is compulsory to follow certain protocols that are imposed to the population by the Government. However, the exercise of this power-duty on behalf of Government authorities place them with the responsibility to avoid the damages that such restrictions cause to people with respect to their economy and the exercise of their freedom. This publication intends to analyze historic records in Argentine case law and the norms that currently regulate the responsibility of the Government for acting within the law, in order to clarify the importance of the role that each citizen plays to recover their right to exercise fully their constitutional rights.

Keywords : Police power; Reasonableness; Legality; Privacy; Proportionality; Responsibility of the Government for acting within the law.

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