Mandatory covid-19 vaccination between public health and individual protection of human rights

Abstract

Mandatory vaccination raises a number of questions related to constitutional and international human rights law. The legal doctrine and relevant case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the European Court of Human Rights provide important guidance in this area.

The right balance between the legitimate goal pursued and the means chosen by state authorities depends to a large extent on the current state of scientific knowledge. Therefore, the competent courts usually grant legislative and executive powers a rather broad margin of appreciation.

However, mandatory vaccination measures should be one of the last means of protecting public health.

Keywords

• mandatory vaccination
• right to privacy
• human dignity
• Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms
• European Convention on Human Rights
• principle of proportionality