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Institute for Global Health Emergencies Response (IGHER)

The Institute for Global Health Emergencies Response (IGHER)

Objectives and scope

The Covid-19 pandemic showed the weakness and unpreparedness of the national systems to protect its citizens and to respond to global health emergencies. It is necessary to be prepared to new pandemics and other kinds of global health emergencies, building the resilience of national health systems on comparison of national and supranational experiences.

For this reason, the EPLO, with Decision of 19 November 2021, established the Institute for Global Health Emergencies Response (IGHER), at its Headquarters in Rome.

The IGHER is established in order to promote the research, development of studies, opinions, education and training in the field of health emergencies of a global or multinational dimension. The field of interest of the IGHER includes the study and research of situations characterized as global and/or international health emergencies with the aim to identify the instruments to be used for their management, the models of public communication, the best practices used both at legislative and administrative level.

To this end, the IGHER:

a) encourages and (co) organizes analyses, studies, researches, conferences, lectures, seminars, discussions, meetings and publications in the field of health emergencies response. It also stimulates academic, university and public interest in the knowledge, reasoning, theory and management of health emergency systems at national, European and international level;

b) encourages and (co) organizes courses, training programs, practical activities in the field of expertise;

c) provides opinions and prepares reports in the field of expertise;

d) shall take any action necessary to achieve its objectives.

The Director

The Director of IGHER is Matteo Gnes. He is full professor of Administrative Law at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy), where he is vice-director of the Law Department and co-director of the Master in Administrative sciences and Innovation the public administration of the Universities of Urbino and Macerata. He has been teaching in many Italian and foreign Universities and has been Fulbright Distinguished lectures Chair at the Gerogetown University (Washington DC, USA). He is an expert in the fields of the use of emergency powers, competition between legal orders, functioning of the public administrations. He has written extensively on the response to Covid-19 emergency. He is member of the European Group of Public Law (EGPL). More info can be found on his institutional website. He may be contacted at his academic email (matteo.gnes@uniurb.it) or at his EPLO email (mgnes@eplo.int).

The Advisory Council

The Director of the IGHER is supported by the Advisory Council, composed of top-ranking scientists and experts of fields relative to Global Health Emergencies Response from all over the world, offering its academic experience when needed.

The current members of the Advisory Council, appointed by Decision of the EPLO Executive Committee, are:

Antonio Bartolini is full professor of Administrative Law at the University of Perugia, Italy. He has been councilor for public administration and institutional reforms and councilor for health.of the Umbria Region.He is member of the European Group of Public Law (EGPL). More info can be found on his institutional website.

Martina Conticelli is full professor of Administrative Law at Tor Vergata University of Rome. She is member of the European Group of Public Law (EGPL), the Research Network on EU Administrative Law (ReNEUAL), and of The Transnational Administrative Law Network. She Coordinated the Tor Vergata Unit within the CoCEAL ERC project, and took part to Jean Monnet Activities. She was Jemolo Fellow at Nuffield College (Oxford), and visiting researcher/invited speaker in Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Spain. Recent works include expropriation, regulatory takings, health care, procedural requirements in national administrative procedures, European procedures and global ones.More info can be found on her institutional website.

Yiannis Drossos is professor emeritus of Constitutional Law at the Law School of Athens University. The main field of his research and academic activity is Public law and European Union law. He is member of the Board of directors of the EPLO, former Member of the Highest Special Court of Greece. He is author of numerous books and articles in the field of his specialty. His last book is “The flight of Icarus. European Legal Responses Resulting from the Financial Crisis” (Hart Publishing, 2020).

Pascale Gonod is full professor of Public Law at the Sorbonne Law School - University of Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne), senior member of the Institutuniversitaire de France (2011-2016), director of the Master 2 in Fundamental Public Law.She was a member of the Superior Council of Administrative Courts and Administrative Courts of Appeal (2015-2018), and member since 2015 of the Board of Directors of the National School of Magistracy and since 2020 on the Superior Commission of the Council of State.She teaches general administrative law, administrative trial law, administrative science and comparative administrative law. His research activities and publications focus on these areas and on the history of legal thought. She is the author of several works relating to the Council of State and administrative justice and participates in various European groups of public law.She directs the “Rivages du droit” collection (Dalloz).More info can be found on her institutional website.

Sanja Krestalica is assistant professor in Public International Law and EU law at the Faculty of Law of The University of East Sarajevo. More info can be found on her institutional website.

Elisenda Malaret Garcia is full professor of Administrative law at the Universidad de Barcelona (Spain). More info can be found on her institutional website.

Elisa Scotti is full professor of Administrative Law. She is Director of the Inter-University Master in Administrative Sciences and Innovation in Public Administration (UniMC-UniUrb), founding member of Global Pandemic Network – GPN and member of its Steering Committee, member of the board of professors of the PhD course in Markets, Business and Consumers at the University Roma Tre; member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Urban Law (AIDU); founding member of the Italian Association of Environmental Law (AIDA-Ambiente); member of the Italian Association of Professors of Economic Law (ADDE); member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Association of Urban Law (AIDU). More info can be found on her institutional website.

Recent and future activities

IGHER supported the Global pandemic Newtwork – GPN in the organisation of its Fourth Global Webinar, held on June 7 2022, on the topic of “Health Care Systems in Time of Crisis. Building Resilience on COVID-19 Experience”. 

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