COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

• Published in: FACTA UNIVERSITATIS - Law and Politics Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 77 - 90
• Main Authors: Mojašević, Aleksandar, Vučetić, Dejan, Stefanović, Stefan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Niš 2022; Универзитет у Нишу
• Subjects: Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; COVID19; behavioral measures; human rights; vaccination policy
• ISSN: 1450-5517

In this paper, the authors explore the implications of different models of vaccination policy (mandatory or voluntary) on human rights from the perspective of behavioral science. For this purpose, the authors first seek to determine the optimal framework for vaccination policy, starting from different forms of paternalistic interventions: 1) anti-paternalistic policies, 2) nudge policies, 3) coercive paternalism, and 4) behavioral regulation of externalities. Giving prevalence to the policy of libertarian paternalism (the nudge policy), the authors underpin their hypothesis with numerous studies on the importance of behavioral insights in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination policy. Then, the implications of mandatory vaccination on human rights are explored and the conditions required for implementing the compulsory vaccination policy are determined. In conclusion, the authors correlate the established optimal behavioral framework with the requirements for mandatory vaccination, and present arguments in favor of provisional mandatory vaccination which does not violate the freedom of individuals but contains an element of obligation.