The legal responses to COVID-19 in Italy, Brazil, and Germany
Camila Almeida Porfiro · 2025
This chapter compares the legal responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Brazil, and Germany, highlighting how each country’s institutional checks and balances functioned during the crisis. Italy exemplifies a “weak-form review”, where the executive branch, particularly the prime minister, managed the pandemic predominantly through decrees (DPCMs) with minimal parliamentary oversight and judicial intervention. Brazil represents a “mid-term review” approach. Despite President Jair Bolsonaro’s denialist stance and federal inaction, the National Congress and the Supreme Court played significant roles. Congress enacted numerous laws related to COVID-19, overrode presidential vetoes, and established a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission to investigate governmental omissions. The Supreme Court issued pivotal decisions to uphold public health measures and ensured that local governments could act independently to manage the crisis. Germany illustrates a “strong-form review”, with robust legislative and judicial oversight. The Bundestag and Länder parliaments enacted detailed laws like the amended Infection Protection Act, providing clear parameters for executive action. The Federal Constitutional Court actively balanced fundamental rights with public health needs, intervening when necessary to ensure measures were proportionate and legally justified. The chapter concludes that a “strong-form review”, characterized by active involvement of all government branches, offers the most effective and democratic approach to crisis management.