CHINA'S LIABILITY OF SPREADING COVID-19

The Author is Gaurav Kr. Yadav  from Faculty of Law, Integral University.

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic is reducing human, economic, and social damage worldwide. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).  The disease was first identified in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province of China in 2019 and has been spreading globally since resulting in 2019-20 coronavirus Pandemic. Common symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.  Other symptoms may comprise of muscle pain, sputum production, diarrhoea, sore throat, loss of smell, and abdominal pain. The virus spreads mainly by close contact and through respiratory drops when people cough or sneeze.  Respiratory drops may occur during breathing, but the virus is usually not airborne.  People can also contract COVID-19 by touching the contaminated surface and then their face. “This pandemic is a health crisis.  But there is not just one health crisis. 

Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said:

"For vast regions of the world, the pandemic will leave deep, deep scars.Without the support of the international community, we risk a massive reversal of the gains made over the last two decades, and an entire generation is lost, if not in life, to rights, opportunities and dignity."

Worldwide, the total number of recorded infections reached more than 12,03,485 since the onset of the outbreak.  Some 2,47,001 people have made recovery globally while around 64,784 people have died [data as of Apr 5, 2020 05:18 PM]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has started using the expression "physical distancing" instead of "social distancing", to prevent the spread of novel coronaviruses from people to people, widely used by experts as a welcome step in a right direction.

The increase of COVID-19 crisis intimidates the developing countries not only on health crisis in the short term, but as a shattering the social and economic trouble in the coming months and years.  Income loss in developing countries is expected to exceed $ 220 billion.  With an estimated 55 percent of the global population not having access to social security, these disadvantages will reproduce in societies, affecting education, human rights and, in the most severe cases, basic food security and nutrition. Income losses in areas such as education, human rights and food security can have serious consequences for societies. 

INTERNATIONAL LIABILITY AND FAULT OF CHINA

The main fault of China is hide the information regarding eruption of virus and not provide accurate data and evidence and not screening the passenger of other countries .The world is currently witnessing an unprecedented health crisis in the form of the COVID-19 outburst, which is said to be famous for its origins in the wet markets of the Chinese city of Wuhan, infamous for its exotic meat products,  Which are widely consumed in local population of China in the name of  practice of superstition prevalent.  Virus that has now affected 199 countries.

However, the concept only took a concrete shape through Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration, and also in Trail Smelter arbitration,  which went on to ensure responsibility on nation states that activities under their jurisdiction or control do not harm the environment of other states or territories beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. Environmental rights have not been explicitly included in any of the international human rights instruments.  The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) under Article 12 (b) referred to the improvement of environmental sanitation to be a precondition of the right to health. Thus the analysis of the above legal proposals makes it clear that the present-day international enviro-legal jurisprudence is sufficient to hold a nation state accountable if an infectious disease travels within its borders and trans boundary nature is harmed.  The reason behind this is that there is a need to work diligently while doing any activity within the sovereign boundaries.

As we were getting into the aviation situation of India's and recently announced the budget on 1 February 2020, which did not provide any relief to the aviation sector, there was a tsunami of coronavirus or COVID-19 as it is now in China Wuhan.  Shattered the world's economy and the aviation sector.  In fact, aviation is the main origin of the spread of this virus internationally from China. While China had been in denial since mid-November 2019 and orders were placed in Wuhan city to stop it and not to publish any information on it, it was not until 14 January when WHO announced it but no clear evidence given by them . Then the harm was done internationally by the aviation sector wuhan is also connected with worldwide.  Globalized aviation is mainly liable for the transmission of this virus.  Only on 20 January 2020 did China admit that the virus was transmitted from human to human.  As a result countries around the world started  entry barriers to their country mainly through aviation.  Most of the countries including India have now declared complete lockout. There is no doubt that aviation is an important catalyst for globalization and development today.

The Chicago Convention 1944 is the foundation for the creation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Air Law and is ratified practically by all members of the United Nations, including China.  Article 14 gives each member state the responsibility to take effective measures to prevent the spread by intermedium of air navigation of cholera and other such communicable diseases and to that extent it is the responsibility of the contracting state to have close consultation with agencies related to international regulation  keeps for sanitary measures applied to aircraft.  It has been well placed by now that China consciously kept the COVID-19 virus silent in its early stages, leading to the spread of this deadly virus globally.

Similarly, in the present case, Wuhan Airport is liable under Article 17 of the Montreal Convention, read with Article 14 of the Chicago Convention 1944, stated above for damage continued by so many international passengers of different nationalities to allow the passengers board without a screening of the COVID-19 and spreading it worldwide  due to the gross negligence of the Chinese government-owned airport .  It is also a fitted case for class action suits worldwide under the Montreal Convention 1999.

Under the law on state responsibility, the subjugation of important information about COVID-19 by China is a violation of its international obligations under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), a treaty established under the aegis of the WHO.

Under Article 6 of the Treaty, China - a member state - has a duty to notify the WHO about an eruption of viral within 24 hours of determining its nature.  Article 7 also requires that China, after notification, to provide "timely, accurate and sufficiently detailed and available public health information" about it.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, for the purpose of acknowledging China's liability under international law, a legal framework governing trans-boundary environmental damage can be used, because, the spread of an infectious infection clearly shows that commercial ventures while performing due diligence obligations there was a violation.  Activities in wet markets that affect an important human right, that is, enjoy a safe and healthy environment and China also sued under Montreal Convention and under Air Laws all countries lift temporary ban on china regarding trade and commerce.