Document Type : Original Article

Highlights

Corona, the Intersection of the Right to Health and the Right to Information: An Inquiry into the Government's Responsibility

Abstract

Providing information and access to information is one of the results and tasks arising from the right to health and the right to information, which are recognized in international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and domestic laws.In this regard, the government and related institutions, including the Ministry of Health and the Broadcasting Organization, should provide the people with adequate, appropriate and timely information about various dimensions related to health-threatening diseases such as prevention and combat methods, medical facts and real statistics.The outbreak of the Corona epidemic and its’ unfortunate effects on the increase in mortality, physical and even mental health of citizens, drew the attention of public opinion more than past to the importance of the right to information in the field of health.At the beginning of the outbreak of this disease in Iran, many criticisms were directed at the government and other institutions that were directly responsible for maintaining the health of the society and responsible for providing adequate and timely information.

The right to information in the field of health can be studied from two aspects: first from the perspective of the right to information and then from the perspective of the right to health. Accordingly, the government and other responsible institutions are obliged to inform about all aspects of the spread of the Coronavirus. Otherwise, identifying civil and even criminal liability for them will not be far from mind. Negligence and fault in providing information can bring responsibilities to them and the relevant authorities based on the provisions of the Covenants, the constitution, Law on Dissemination of and Free Access to Information and other laws related to the health of society. Also, information asymmetry in the field of production and supplying of all information related to health, including prevention, health and treatment programs, medical centers, doctors, medicine and the like, which result in the adverse selection of citizens, requiring the intervention and responsibility of the government. On the other hand, providing public services and maintaining public order is one of the most important duties of the administration. Health, while it is considered as one of the public goods that the government is obliged to provide, as one of the important elements of public order is also the responsibility of the administrative officials.

The current research is trying to answer this question, whether the recognition of the right to health and the right to information require the government and other relevant public institutions to provide information to the public? In case of violation of this duty, will the government and decision-making authorities be held responsible? In this regard, it should first be said that people's access to information related to epidemic diseases is the intersection of the right to health and the right to information. These two rights are the rights of the second and first generation, respectively, which are basically secured by intervention and non-intervention, but in the case of the government as the main addressee, they are considered claim-rights and require government to take all the positive and negative measures to protect the aforementioned rights. Providing information in the field of health, on the one hand, is rooted in the right to health and on the other hand, the right to information, each of which has different dimensions and effects.

One of the most important aspect of this topic is providing information about all health-related issues in different stages of the spread of a disease, including prevention and treatment. Therefore, if the governments provide timely and sufficient information before the spread of infectious diseases and provide all other relevant information such as prevention and treatment methods, medical and treatment centers, in a sufficient and timely manner, many deaths due to this disease were prevented. Therefore, guaranteeing people's access to the information of public authorities in charge of health in relation to the corona disease and the public dissemination of such information not only has a significant contribution in reducing the infection rate to this deadly disease, but also by informing the sufferers of special treatment centers and other information related to the period of illness and recovery will play an irreplaceable role in reducing the rate of death and injuries caused by this disease. Moreover, making available and publishing all public information related to the corona disease will prevent citizens from paying attention to false information, infodemic and disinfodemic, and will subsequently lead to an increase in the level of public trust in the government.

Identifying the types of responsibilities for the government can play a significant role in ensuring the rights of citizens, especially the right to access information in the field of health. Among the types of responsibilities of the government, it can be claimed that the most familiar of them is the civil responsibility of the government and the obligation of the government to compensate the citizens who have been harmed due to the failure of the administration's equipment. However, with the approval of the Islamic Penal Code (2013) and the recognition of criminal responsibility for the government and legal entities of public law, considering the main philosophy of the government's criminal responsibility, which is to prevent the victimization of citizens, an important step in paying more attention to the conditions of the people and preventing abuse of power. Therefore, it seems that the recognition of criminal responsibility for governments and legal entities of public law in cases of exercising sovereignty is not only wrong, but also if moderation is observed and appropriate laws are established, it will protect the rights of the nation and the progress of the society. Also, identifying the political responsibility for the violation of citizens' right to access information in the field of preventing and dealing with infectious diseases requires reaching political maturity, program-oriented governments and systematic political participation so that the Islamic Council can use its tools and the pressure on the government official to take an important step in guaranteeing the rights of the citizens. The recognition of administrative and disciplinary responsibility for the government is still in its embryonic stage, and it is necessary for legal doctrine to theorize, and the jurisprudence, with the help of opinions and works of jurists, paves the way for the recognition of such responsibility. Finally, the legislator should take into consideration the efforts of legal scholars and judges to legislate in this field as well as criminal responsibility.

Keywords: Corona, Right to Information, Right to Health, Government Responsibility.

• public Law