The Revised International Health Regulations and Restraint of National Health Measures
![handle is hein.journals/hthlj13 and id is 37 raw text is: The Revised International Health Regulations and
Restraint of National Health Measures
Barbara von Tigerstrom*
I. Introduction
Occurring against the backdrop of severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS), avian influenza and fears of a global influenza pandemic, the revision of
the International Health Regulations (IHR or Regulations) is one of the most
significant developments in international health law in recent years. The previous
Regulations, outdated and notoriously ineffective, have been comprehensively
revised, providing a new legal framework for global infectious disease surveillance
and control. In May 2005, the World Health Assembly adopted the revised IHR,
which will be binding on WHO member states when they come into force in 2007.
With major changes to the Regulations' scope, states' obligations, and the powers
and duties of the World Health Organization (WHO), the revised IHR represent a
landmark in the international legal framework relating to health. It has even been
suggested that the revision can be seen as part of a transition to a new era in global
health governance.1
One important change involves the way in which the revised IHR purport to
govern or limit public health measures taken by individual states. The previous
Regulations prescribed specific measures to be taken in response to diseases within
their scope, and prohibited additional or excessive measures. The aim of this
restriction was to achieve the main purpose of the IHR, to ensure the maximum
security against the international spread of diseases with a minimum interference
with world traffic.2 This objective remains important, but the means of achieving
it have been dramatically changed. This difference and its implications are the main
focus of this article. After reviewing the IHR and their revision, it will discuss the
old and new approaches to restricting states' public health measures and balancing
maximum security against minimum interference. The revisions to the relevant
articles themselves will be examined, but these must also be considered in light of
changes to other parts of the Regulations and the evolving global context, and in
terms of the change they represent for the role of the IHR and their relationship
with the rest of international law.
* Barbara von Tigerstrom is an Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan College of Law, Saska-
toon.
' See David P. Fidler, SARS, Governance and the Globalization of Disease (New York: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2004) at 60-67 [Fidler, SARS].
21nternational Health Regulations (1969), 3rd ed. (Geneva: WHO, 1983) at foreword [IHR (1969)].](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/hthlj13&div=4&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Revised International Health Regulations and Restraint of National Health Measures
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