Criminal Liability for Acts Leading to the Spread of Infectious Diseases in the Regulations of the Penal Codes of Selected European Countries

Abstract

Counteracting the spread of infectious diseases poses a challenge for the efficient running of a state. The most common aspect of this issue concerns the establishment of appropriate legal regulations aimed at protecting human life and health against the spread of biological pathogens causing infectious diseases. In recent years, this issue has taken on a particular importance with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. National legislators have taken a number of legislative initiatives as a response to the emerging threat. However, in some cases, the existing regulations were considered sufficient. Legal scholars consider these issues primarily from the perspective of general administrative law. These include administrative law sanctions for non-compliance with prohibitions established within this field of law. However, the problem addressed in the title may also be considered from the perspective of criminal law, in particular in relation to the protection of human life and health. The central point of consideration is the protection of these values (individually and collectively) against the transmission of infectious diseases due to human negligence.