One year on how has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the law, and the way states govern? Should we be concerned about the ongoing use of emergency powers? How can we look forward to what lies ahead?

Marking the launch of the 2021 "Power and the COVID-19 Pandemic" Symposium, this webinar will bring together five contributors to discuss the impact of the pandemic on legal systems globally, and offer initial assessments for the rule of law, democracy, and human rights:

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin - Regents Professor University of Minnesota Law School; Professor of Law, Queens University Belfast; UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism
Martin Scheinin - British Academy Global Professor, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford; part-time Professor, European University Institute, Florence; Collaborator of the PluriCourts Centre of Excellence, University of Oslo; Member of the Scientific Committee of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency
Thomas Bustamante - Professor of Legal Theory at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil; Research Productivity Fellow of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development
Thulasi K. Raj - Advocate, Supreme Court and Kerala High Court; Equality Fellow, Centre for Law & Policy Research, Bangalore
Jakub Jaraczewski - Legal Officer, Democracy Reporting International

The webinar will be chaired by Joelle Grogan (Middlesex University London) who is the convenor of the Symposium.

The Power and the COVID-19 Pandemic Symposium beginning on 22 February 2021 is hosted by the Verfassungsblog and supported by Democracy Reporting International, RECONNECT, and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law. The Symposium brings together experts from over 70 countries to reflect on how legal and political systems have adapted to ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and to offer recommendations on the future of good governance.