Global Health Law: Between Hard and Soft Law

Abstract

The field of global health law encompasses both "hard" law treaties and "soft" law policies that shape global health norms. Transitioning from "international health law" to "global health law and policy," global health policymakers have increasingly looked to soft law instruments to address public health needs in a rapidly globalizing world-within the World Health Organization and across global health governance. Yet, as policymakers have expanded the landscape of soft law policy instruments to advance global health across state and non-state actors, the COVID-19 response revealed the limitations of this soft law approach to global health threats, with states now seeking hard law reforms to strengthen global health governance. As hard and soft law provide complementary approaches to preventing disease and promoting health, future research must conceptualize how these normative frameworks interact in advancing global health.

Keywords: Global health law, Global health governance, International law, Soft law, World Health Organization, United Nations