Bird-flu laws must be clear and set out early, says Palmer

Parliament should set out what laws and regulations will be suspended or enforced during a bird flu pandemic before the disease hits, the Law Commission says.

The Epidemic Preparedness Bill, being considered by the Government administration select committee, allows ministers to relax statutory restrictions or requirements to deal with the flu.

However, Law Commissioner Sir Geoffrey Palmer told it yesterday the term "relaxation" seemed to be new and, while it appeared to amount to a suspension of the law, it lacked clear definition.

"The power is wide and the way it will be used is difficult to predict."

While acknowledging that it would be virtually impossible to identify every statute which might need to be modified if a pandemic struck the country, Sir Geoffrey said it would be simpler and more transparent to set out some regulations before the event.

"The actions that need to be taken should be clear to the health authorities from their operational plan for such events. The bulk of what is required should be capable of being dealt with in advance of the epidemic if planning for it is well advanced," the commission's submission said.

Sir Geoffrey said a pandemic would see politicians and officials able to assume draconian powers over people's individual rights. Those rights could not be suspended without real justification, so those powers should be scrutinised by Parliament before the event so that everyone knew what they were and officials knew what was expected of them.

Regulations being set out in advance of any pandemic would also help after the event, during any review of whether officials had exceeded their powers or not.

"It is better in our view to make as many plans in advance as can usefully be made. The powers that are needed should be defined and drafted, the regulations scrutinised and only those matters that have not been properly anticipated dealt with by emergency regulations."