The Sino-German Legal Cooperation Programme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) organized in cooperation with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (LAC) an online workshop on public health legislation on 8 November 2022.
Dr Haase, Programme Director of the Legal Cooperation Programme, and Ms Yuan, Director of the Administrative Law Department of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, delivered the respective welcoming remarks. Both emphasised that the issue of public health is a contemporary and important topic due to the pandemic. Ms Yuan expressed the hope to learn from Germany’s experience and to use this knowledge in a new infection control law in China.
Mr. André Sangs, Director and Head of the Department for the Infection Protection Act at the Federal Ministry of Health, gave the first keynote address on the Infection Protection Act in Germany and public health at the federal level in general. Mr. Sangs explained the role of the federal government in public health and the competencies of the states, the federal structure in Germany, the role of institutes such as the Robert Koch Institute and the historical development of the Infection Protection Act. The Infection Protection Act, which serves as the legal basis for measures to prevent infectious diseases, for information campaigns, for vaccinations or for mask obligations, was then discussed in greater depth. Additionally, the law has the purpose to advance the digitalisation of the public health care system. To combat infectious diseases, there are three different levels of protective measures, which can be adapted to infection levels. Currently, there are no more stringent protective measures.
Ms Verena Ortner, officer at the Senate for Health, Women and Consumer Protection of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, presented the public health system at the state level, with a special focus on Covid measures in the state of Bremen. Ms Ortner focused on the implementation of the measures at state level. Different authorities were involved in implementing measures such as vaccinations or Covid tests. In addition, Ms Ortner presented the role of regulatory authorities, which can issue fines for violating regulations, and the role of courts, where affected persons can file lawsuits against measures if their fundamental rights have been violated.
In the question and answer session, the Chinese delegation was particularly interested in the three-step solution, which represents a flexible approach to pandemic control. In addition, the Infection Protection Act was again discussed in more detail as an authorizing basis for administrative acts. The law has a legislative basis and gives the federal government and the states the possibility to issue administrative acts in order to react to infection levels in a timely manner. There were further questions on the control of home quarantine and how it has been gradually relaxed. The role of the Robert Koch Institute was also discussed in more detail.
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Yuan from LAC noted that both countries showed a similar level of professionalism in their respective pandemic response and admitted that the Chinese way was costly and that this meant that China should also learn from Germany in this regard. Further, she emphasized the flexibility of the three-step plan, which was worth learning from. Dr. Haase explained that in the fight against the pandemic, the German understanding of the rule of law could be viewed in detail: on the one hand, competences had to be coordinated between the federal and state governments, proportionality and effective legal protection against disproportionate measures had to be ensured at all times, and compensation was also available as an important remedy in the case of disproportionate measures. He expressed the hope that both Germany and China would be able to fight the pandemic better.