COVID-19 and the right of return

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleOtherpeer-review

Abstract

Throughout 2020 and 2021, a human right most Australians presumably took for granted was effectively suspended by the Australian government: if you were an Australian citizen overseas, you no longer had any guaranteed right of return. Taking as given that we do in fact have a moral right to re-enter the country of which we are a citizen, in this commentary I draw on the work of philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson to critically examine three possible pathways by which the suspension of this right could—at least theoretically—be morally justified.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)376-381
Number of pages6
JournalAustralian Journal of Human Rights
Volume27
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Judith Jarvis Thomson
  • Right of return
  • rights forfeiture
  • rights overriding
  • rights specification

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