Some thoughts on the legality of hotel quarantine (thread)

- What will be the legal basis of hotel quarantine? I am guessing s45B(2)(b) of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. Seems a pretty straightforward provision... /1

... but important questions about what detail will be.
- since likely to be a deprivation of liberty in human rights law will need safeguards.
- Will it need specific authorisation each time?
- regular reviews or will 14 days be compulsory?
- access to judicial review?

- As far as I understand Norway (another European Convention on Human Rights state) did this but without legal compulsion
- Interesting Human Rights question whether detention of *potentially* infectious people falls within article 5 exception (will depend in part on necessity)

- devil will be in the detail.
- Lots of difficult decisions to make for the law, eg will certain travellers be able to make own arrangements,
- will there be exceptions eg for people with mental health issues - not surprised will take a few weeks

- also will anyone challenge their detention in court on basis it isn’t necessary eg because they have vaccine/antibodies?
- thoughts welcome in replies, thanks

- The simplest way for the govt to do this is to call it hotel quarantine but match the rules to the current self-isolation rules which allow you to leave in certain very limited circumstances, that would avoid having to have legal detention safeguards

- Also the fact that you will apparently have to pay for the pleasure of being in a quarantine hotel, I’m not sure how that would impact on legality, I imagine a court will be most interested in the detention aspects but who knows

- I don’t think any of this is necessarily unlawful. In fact, I think this is the kind of scenario which has been anticipated under human rights law for the prevention of the spread of infectious disease. But as I said, the devil will be in the detail and safeguards