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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Robyn Marie Martin, BA, LLB, MURP, profesdor of Public Health law, Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care, UK, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Unit 4, 8-13 New Inn St., Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3PY, United Kingdom, +447050131949, R.M.Martin@herts.ac.uk

This paper will examine core public health legislation in the United Kingdom, in order to assess the extent to which such legislation recognises and respects the human rights of individuals subject to public health powers. The paper will then examine cultural understandings of the balance between public good and private rights within the UK. To what extent should individual sensitivities, such as cultural or religious beliefs and practices, be accommodated where such practices threaten to undermine efforts to protect the health of populations? Is it possible to frame laws that provide effective tools for public health practice, but which at the same time respect the rights of individuals? The paper will draw on public health law reform initiatives in other jurisdictions to consider possible solutions for law reform in the UK.

Learning Objectives:

• The objectives of the paper are to explain and critique the core public health legislation in the United Kingdom, and to explore the extent to which that legislation enables public health interventions to respect the human rights of individual citizens.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation