Law and Health
Prof. Aeyal Gross
Course name: Global Health Law
Course number: 1411-7592-01
Course description: On June 30 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. This was the sixth time such a declaration has been made since the entry into force of the 2005 International Health Regulations. In this seminar, we will study the international norms relating to health and their implementation while examining the COVID-19 crisis through the lens of human rights and international law.
The topics that will be learned include: The role of international law in global health governance; the status of the right to health; the role of international law in dealing with communicable diseases and in particular emerging infectious diseases such as AIDS and COVID-19; The role of different actors working within global health including the World Health Organization: The status and the implementation of the International Health Regulations; The relationship between international health law and international trade law; the role of international law in preventing non-communicable diseases (including the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) and the relationship between international health law and international humanitarian law; the protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law during health emergencies.
Dr. Melanie Levy
Course name: Health and Human Rights
Course number: 1411-7444-40
Course description: This course provides an opportunity to explore ways in which human health is interrelated with human rights. It will study and assess the basic components of governmental obligations related to health under international human rights law. The course begins by examining the emergence of health and human rights as a distinct field. Following this, it will consider the meaning of the international right to health, stressing the differences between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social, and cultural rights, on the other. Although the course will focus broadly on health and human rights issues, special consideration will be given to the right to health as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Beyond the ICESCR, the course will also refer to other international instruments (e.g., Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) and regional instruments (e.g., European Convention on Human Rights), national constitutions, and legislation, as well as relevant case law. After exploring a series of foundational themes and issues (Part I - The field of health and human rights), the course will critically analyze the human rights dimensions of a variety of health challenges through in-depth case studies, such as the AIDS pandemic, neglected diseases, tobacco control, female genital mutilation, access to abortion services, and force-feeding of hunger strikers (Part II - Applying the health and human rights framework to different health topics). Finally, the course will identify ways in which a human rights approach can be used as an advocacy tool to improve the policies that shape the public's health. It will also debate current critiques of the rights' discourse and analyze future directions of health and human rights (Part III - Beyond the rights' discourse).
Syllabus
Dr. Adi Niv-Yagoda
Course name: Medical Law and Health Policy
Course number: 1411-7490-01
Course description: For many years the Israeli health system has been facing many internal and external challenges. Economic incentives and conflicts of interests, alongside professional legal and ethical challenges. All of these influence the planning and the management of health services in Israel and the quality of the provision of health services to the public. During the course, we will examine the values, incentives, and interests which move the health system in Israel, and how they influence its nature. We will also analyze the relationships that developed over the years between the various actors (HMOs, hospitals, health organizations, insurance companies, uses of health services, etc) and consider the daily influence on health care uses in Israel.
Main topics to be discussed: National Health Insurance Law - Principles and mechanism; Public vs private medicine - limits of what is allowed and prohibited; relationship of caregiver and patient; medical technologies; updating of the health services basket; medical treatment and technology (Telemedicine and e-patient); health insurance in Israel (supplementary and commercial); market failures in health; challenges of the health system in addressing a pandemic and the COVID-19 policies and public trust. The course will give its participants theoretical knowledge alongside practical tools to analyze issues from the area of medical law and health policy in Israel.
