Cristina Queiroz - Synopsis

Liberal democracy has always sought a balance between individual freedom and collective solidarity. Hence, the debate about the degree of preparedness of States in dealing with the threat of SARS-CoV-2 will necessarily focus on the absence of models both as to the impact of the crisis and the concrete measures taken, especially in terms of suspension or restriction of fundamental rights and freedoms.

It is understood that in the face of the "extraordinary situation" we are experiencing it is preferable to maintain the framework of the law of the normal situation, which requires immediate emergency and urgent solutions, but not a "right of exception".

The problem is whether States can benefit from a stronger and more consistent legal and constitutional basis for action in order to better manage the crisis and its consequences within (and around) a "risk society" and in a world dominated by a new "uncertainty".