MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LAW

                                        Brno, Czech Republic





                                    Public Health Emergency Law:

                                     Domestic and International

                                (Condensed Seminar in English Only)

                                Offered from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

                                            PC Classroom

                                 Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,

                                     March 18, 19 and 20, 2008





                                Judith W. Munson, Adjunct Professor

                                      John Marshall Law School

                                                And

                                         Executive Director

                               International Collaborative for Public

                                   Health Emergency Preparedness

                                         Chicago, Illinois

                                        jwmunson2@yahoo.com







                               A Twelve-Hour Seminar over Three Days

               Exploring the Legal Bases By which Civilized Societies Seek to Address

                      the Threats Posed by the Intentional Use of Pathogens as

                  Agents of Bioterrorism, by Emerging Infectious Diseases, and by

                   Other Public Health Threats, Domestically and Internationally





                                       Context of the Seminar



   Simply put, since the anthrax attacks in the U.S. in the fall of 2001, a familiarity with the
   issues addressed by public health law--and a solid grounding in their statutory, regulatory
   and case decision foundation--is an essential ingredient of every law school curriculum, and,
   arguably, every school of public health curriculum.  It is a subject that cannot be overlooked
   if the student is to be adequately prepared to advise clients effectively in this 21^st
   Century.  Furthermore, since the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003, and now the specter of a global
   pandemic of avian influenza, the required familiarity and understanding of the law in this
   area extend well beyond the state and national borders to the international arena as well. 
   Consequently, a major emphasis of the course will be to expose students to international news
   and events pertinent to the subjects being emphasized in class.

   

   Emergency legal preparedness, in the U.S., the Czech Republic, and internationally, is a
   rapidly evolving body of law.  The seminar as a teaching/learning mechanism provides a
   receptive and reactive environment which can quickly and effectively address emerging issues
   and events.  Just nine months ago, for example, the airport in the city of Prague and the
   United States border security system were inextricably connected by an errant passenger
   traveling with XDR-TB—extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.  Breaking news alerts came
   daily, sometimes hourly, until the patient was located and secured.

   

   The internationalization of the human condition will be emphasized in the seminar.  Emerging
   topics of international public health concern (in addition to domestic public health legal
   issues) will be explored at the beginning of each class session. This is an imperative for the
   prepared legal practitioner.  We are no longer individual, isolated countries protected by
   borders and able to shut out the rest of the world by locking the gate.

   

   This seminar immerses the student in the public health scenarios which constitute emergencies
   for which legal authority to act is essential. It also familiarizes the student with the legal
   structures and documents upon which the domestic and international authorities are founded.
   Students will be introduced to the legal issues via case studies, tabletop exercises, and
   films, among other instruments.  Reference works and resources used in the course are websites
   and other Internet-based learning mechanisms and communication technologies.

   

   Lastly, each Masaryk University Faculty of Law student in Brno, the Czech Republic, will be
   partnered with a John Marshall Law School student enrolled in the same course in Chicago,
   Illinois.  Students will be requested to discuss a specific topic of public health law with
   each other via the Internet telephony mechanism of www.Skype.com for about 1 hour.  Students
   on both sides of the Atlantic will be required to prepare a one-page summary of this
   conversation.   

   

                                           Please Note: 

   

   Grades will be based upon the following factors:

   

   Fifty percent (50%) of the grade will be based upon:

   Class attendance and participation; class-reporting on website(s) selected to be monitored;
   and, responsibility for coverage of topics which may be assigned in the class sessions.

   

   Fifty percent (50%) of the grade will be based upon:

   The report of the Skype.com conversation with the Chicago law student

   or

   the document prepared comparing the pandemic influenza preparedness plan of the Czech Republic
   with that of another country in the EU.

   

   NOTE:  ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO BRING  A LAPTOP COMPUTER TO CLASS OR MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO
                             PARTNER WITH ANOTHER STUDENT WITH A LAPTOP