Post-COVID-19 Lessons: Reforming Ghana’s Electoral and Emergency Response Laws

The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the emergency response laws and regulations in place in the various states within the southern region for use by legislators, emergency response planners, the general public and all persons concerned about the existing legal framework for emergency response. SSEB expects to periodically update the report as necessary. Radiation protection regulations without emergency response provisions are not included in the summary. The radiological emergency response laws and regulations of the Southern States Energy Compact member states are in some cases disparate. Several states have very specific laws on radiological emergency response while in others, the statutory law mentions only emergency response to ``natural disasters.`` Some states have adopted extensive regulations on the topic, others have none. For this reason, any general overview must necessarily discuss laws and regulations in general terms. State-by-state breakdowns are given for specific states.

After Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, Atomic Energy Council (AEC) has conducted reexamination on three operating nuclear power plants in Taiwan immediately, focusing on nuclear safety, radiation protection and emergency preparedness. Lessons learned in five areas have been concluded from Fukushima accident: 1. Complex disasters, 2. Victim’s viewpoint, 3. New technology, 4. Disaster prevention, and 5. Transparency and communication. In order to prevent from similar disaster occurs in Taiwan, AEC has improved capabilities and abilities of nuclear emergency preparedness and response through three aspects: 1. Mechanisms and regulations, 2. Cross-border and international cooperation, 3. Preparedness improvement. For mechanisms and regulations, AEC has revised nuclear emergency response related acts, regulations and plans, expanded emergency planning zone (EPZ) based on two units accident. Enhance the national response mechanism for nuclear accident caused by severe natural disaster. For cross-border and international cooperation, AEC has revised the guidelines for accident notification, introduced more agencies into emergency response mechanism, and issued a new rule of the Response Guidelines for Cross-border Nuclear/Radiological Incidents. AEC also enhanced the abilities and capabilities on radiation dose evaluation and analysis, atmosphere dispersion model, aerial and maritime radiation detection and monitoring. For preparedness improvement, AEC has required the licensees to fulfill the NRC’s NTTF recommendations about Staffing and Communications. The licensees have developed the ultimate response guideline to inject seawater when necessary, and have improved (or are going to build) earthquake resistant/seismic isolated building for emergency response. More alert stations have been established to make sure all residents within EPZ will be notified within 45 min while nuclear accident occurs. More radiation monitoring stations also established within EPZ. For iodine tablet arrangement, AEC has introduced three-layer concept, predistributed 2-day’s dose supply to residents within EPZ, another 2-day’s dose supply was kept by local government within EPZ, and two “National Stockpiles” outside EPZ has been established for extra need. For emergency response information system, AEC had created nuclear emergency management platform system for nuclear response groups. If situation is getting worse to General Emergency or a complex disaster, AEC would activate emergency management information system to communicate with agencies at the Central Disaster Response Center. For evacuation, a staged-keyhole type evacuation was developed to support public protective action. Students and nursing people have first priority to evacuate; a pre-evacuation mechanism is in place for schools, nursing houses and hospitals. AEC also keeps on public communication with residents through all occasions, gathering and fairs. In order to verify above improved measurements, AEC conducts nuclear emergency exercise through tabletop exercise, onsite exercise, and full participation exercise annually. We should be humble in face of nature disaster, and keep on improving capabilities of emergency preparedness and response to reduce risk and mitigate consequence, and earn trust of residents through transparency and communications.

The EU Response to COVID-19: From Reactive Policies to Strategic Decision-Making.

Emergency responses are premised on the hope that, even when events cannot be wholly predicted and prevented, timely action in the present can be exercised to strip an emergent event of its disruptive potential. Yet, while the speed of emergency responses plays a critical role in underpinning UK resilience, it has been a relatively neglected subject in studies of resilience advanced through the paradigm of preparedness. This article aims to contribute to and extend work in the field of emergency governance by arguing that concerns surrounding the speed of response contribute to a distinct form of security enacted in contemporary emergency response strategies, which I term ‘event suppression’. Drawing on policy analysis, preparedness exercise observations and practitioner interviews, this article investigates how speed operates as a core problematic informing the design of UK emergency responses, organized through the Integrated Emergency Management framework. Integrated Emergency Management promises to accelerate emergency response operations by utilizing advances in communications technologies to drive the bottom-up emergent self-organization of emergency responses. Event suppression ensures security not by preventing an event from happening, but by quickly closing down the ‘disruptive’ time of the emergency event and restoring the linear historical time of standard political processes.

Issue/problem The implementation of an Emergency Response Information Management System (ERIMS) assessment tool improves health emergency responses within the World Health Organization - European Region. The tool’s deployment aims to refine data management processes and bolster preparedness strategies. Managing health information systems (HIS) effectively during emergencies is a persistent challenge, as technologies keep innovating and potential challenges are constant. The ERIMS assessment tool addresses this by offering a structured approach, ensuring improved emergency responses and system resilience. Description of the problem Adopting a systems approach, the ERIMS tool was designed to be flexible, allowing adaptation to various HIS architectures and emergency coordination mechanisms. Its design and development process included consultations with digital health and emergency management experts and field testing across three WHO member states. Results Field applications of the ERIMS assessment tool demonstrated its capacity to evaluate, including, digital capability and knowledge management with focus on emergency scenarios. The tool identified systemic gaps, offered strategic guidance on enhancing data processes, and fortified decision-making protocols. These outcomes not only highlighted the tool’s utility in assessing HIS readiness but also its impact in improving emergency response mechanisms. Lessons The deployment of the ERIMS assessment tool enhanced HIS by providing an evaluation of emergency preparedness and response capabilities with a focus at the national perspective level. The tool’s application showcased its role in advancing public health emergency preparedness, illustrating how assessments can lead to substantial improvements in health information management and emergency response readiness. Key messages • ERIMS assessment implementation improves emergency data management. • Better preparedness relies on boosting digital capabilities and knowledge management.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, China adopted restrictive measures such as mandatory quarantine, health code management, and community lockdowns. These actions were effective in containing the epidemic but often lacked clear legal authorization or procedural safeguards, raising concerns about excessive restrictions on personal liberty. From a legal and policy perspective, this paper examines the statutory framework that enabled such measures, focusing on the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and the Emergency Response Law. It argues that vague authorization and weak procedural constraints left space for local governments to exercise discretionary overreach, exemplified by excessive lockdowns and misuse of digital tools. Building on constitutional principles, the study highlights how legality, necessity, and proportionality should be fundamental limits on emergency powers. It shows that the absence of detailed procedures and rights-protection mechanisms undermined these principles, leading to conflicts between public health and human rights. The paper contributes to Chinese public health law scholarship by clarifying these institutional weaknesses and by proposing reforms to strengthen procedural guarantees, judicial oversight, and regulation of digital surveillance tools. In doing so, it advances understanding of how to balance civil liberties with collective security in future public health crises.

Retracted.

The upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in Indonesia on 14 February 2024 are poised to involve over 200 million citizens out of a total population of 285 million. Among these eligible voters, approximately 115 million belong to the millennial or Gen Z demographic. Within this electoral landscape, the presidential race features a diverse array of candidates, where populism plays a significant, albeit not the dominant, role in shaping the campaigns and agendas of three key contenders. This study aims to explore the relationship between various forms of competing populisms and their utilization of digital technologies. It examines how these dynamics intersect with the digital divide, democracy, pluralism, and social cohesion within Indonesia’s electoral framework. Additionally, the paper outlines potential areas for further research in this domain.

The key of building smart platform in information security is the emergency response and handle events of the realization mechanism of the system intelligence response and the control center. It is equal to the role of the human brain, the basis of knowledge base of problem-solving strategy based on system security incident, case base, and network security expert knowledge base. It consists of an emergency report subsystem and emergency response system, providing emergency response and processing services to assist the emergency response database and emergency response of the expert system. Information security emergency response and processing system focus on information security of the emergency response technology, they are: intrusion detection technology, accident diagnostic technology, against source separation technology and rapid recovery technology, network attack technology, and computer forensics tracking technology.KeywordsInformation securityInformation security emergency responseComputer forensics

This study critically examines institutional investors’ role and strategic approaches in Malaysia’s real estate market, with a particular focus on Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs). These entities, encompassing pension funds, mutual funds, special purpose funds, and sovereign wealth funds, function as state investment arms, wielding significant influence over the nation’s economic trajectory. Despite their substantial financial resources and policy-driven mandates, GLICs allocate a disproportionately modest share of their portfolios—typically between 5.3% and 20%—to real estate. This raises critical questions about the underlying constraints, risk perceptions, and structural inefficiencies that may impede a more assertive real estate investment strategy. This research systematically analyses 34 documents, including annual reports, regulatory frameworks, and legislation, and examines the governance and decision-making structures that shape GLIC’s investment strategies. The findings highlight a multi-tiered and strict hierarchy involving Boards, Investment Panels, Shariah Compliance Committees, and Real Estate Departments, employing both top-down and bottom-up approaches. While this structure ensures regulatory compliance and risk mitigation, it may also introduce bureaucratic inertia, limiting responsiveness to market opportunities and emerging asset classes. Furthermore, legislative mandates such as the Employees Provident Fund Act 1991, the Retirement Fund Act 2007, the Tabung Angkatan Tentera Act 1973, and the Tabung Haji Act 1995 impose distinct constraints and investment thresholds that potentially restrict agility in portfolio expansion. A key paradox emerges, despite real estate’s ability to hedge against inflation and provide stable returns, GLICs prefer more liquid asset classes. Their limited allocation to real estate, even with diversification across traditional and non-traditional sector globally, suggests a preference for alternative investments. This trend rises questions about whether regulatory rigidity or cautious investment culture limit the potential of real estate as an asset class. The findings underscore the need for policy recalibrations, governance reforms, and strategic realignments to unlock the full potential of institutional real estate investments. These insights hold significant implications for policymakers, market participants, and researchers at the intersection of finance, governance, and real estate development.

The Constitutional Court's Decision No. 62/PUU-XXII/2024, which nullified the application of the presidential threshold in Indonesia’s presidential and vice-presidential elections, represents a transformative development in the country's electoral framework. This research investigates the legal and political ramifications of the ruling, particularly its impact on democratic practices and the structure of the electoral system in Indonesia. Employing a normative juridical approach, the study explores the constitutional justification for eliminating the threshold, assesses its effects on political inclusiveness, and examines its implications for governmental stability. The results suggest that eliminating the presidential threshold may strengthen democratic processes by enabling broader candidate participation and encouraging a more competitive political environment. Nevertheless, the absence of such thresholds could also lead to heightened political fragmentation, potentially resulting in a more divided electoral arena. From a regulatory standpoint, this shift demands careful revision of electoral procedures to maintain administrative efficiency and uphold the integrity of election outcomes. This research contributes original insights by being among the first to critically assess the legal reasoning of the Constitutional Court’s decision in the context of Indonesia’s evolving democratic architecture. It highlights the tension between normative constitutional ideals and practical governance needs, offering a nuanced interpretation that bridges theory and institutional realities. However, the study is limited by its focus on normative and doctrinal analysis without incorporating empirical data from political actors or voter behavior post-ruling. In conclusion, the abolition of the presidential threshold introduces a multifaceted impact on Indonesia's democratic development and electoral integrity, warranting further scholarly inquiry into regulatory frameworks that can harmonize openness with governance efficacy post-ruling.

The Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group for the Ghana Presidential and Parliamentary elections, held 7 December 2012. The Group was led by HE Dr Pakalitha Mosisili, MP, former Prime Minister of Lesotho, and comprised thirteen eminent persons in total. <br clear="none"/><br clear="none"/>The Group found that the elections were credible and highlighted the role of the Electoral Commission. It offered a series of recommendations to help improve some technical aspects of the process and also the environment in which elections occur.

The aim of the article is to analyse the behaviour of local government institutions in the conditions of the Covid-19 epidemic. It covers the activities of the commune and poviat self-government and their organisational units, as well as the sanitary inspection, the police and the state fire service. Since no local authority functions in a political and legal vacuum, the authors’ attention has also been focused on those decisions of the “centre” that to the greatest extent determined the behaviour of “local Poland”.The text is based on several sources: the observation journal, recording events in the Orlin commune, which was kept from 31 March to 31 May 2020, local statistics on this commune, local media from that period, as well as legal acts and official government documents coming down to local level. Thanks to the research method – the case study of the Orlin commune – the authors recreate the way in which these institutions organise, integrate and cooperate during an epidemic, at the same time pointing to the existing difficulties and problems.

Threshold and real-time initiation mechanism of urban flood emergency response under combined disaster scenarios

RETRACTED: Automation of emergency response for petroleum oil storage terminals