Dal Coronavirus alla Corona. Emergenza pandemica ed evoluzione costituzionale nel Regno Unito

Abstract

From Coronavirus to the Crown. Pandemic Emergency and Constitutional Evolution in the United Kingdom – The article deals with the constitutional implications for the United Kingdom resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. History shows that in the UK a state of emergency has been declared on several occasions in order for the Government to be vested with special powers. This has been done to deal with emergencies of various sorts such as wars, terrorism, epidemics and so forth. Through a careful analysis of previous statute law – in particular the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 which is the basic source of governmental policy-making – the aim of the paper is to illustrate, from a constitutional standpoint, the British reaction to the Covid-19 emergency. The activities of the Executive are examined through the lenses of the Prime Minister’s official statements. Indeed, it is through the latter that the Government has so far explained to the media and to the general public the emergency steps it has taken. The paper then specifically focuses on the Coronavirus Act 2020 through which the central and devolved governments have been vested with all the powers required to fight the pandemic. Attention is also paid to the impact that the combination of Brexit and Covid-19 is having on the unwritten Constitution and the evolution of the latter under Conservative rule.