International Law Analysis On The Relief Obligation Of Cruise Ships In Public Health Emergencies

The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has had a huge impact on economy and also threatened the lives and health of people around the world.The international cruise industry has also been greatly affected.Due to its relatively closed special environment,a single case of infection can also have serious consequences.During the outbreak,several cruise ships were trapped at sea due to the infection.Among them,the "Diamond Princess" had a cluster of infections and suffered heavy losses,which sounded the alarm to the international community.The situation of international cruise ships is complicated.It has a long route,passes through different countries,calls at different ports,and the crew members have different nationalities.Once an outbreak occurs,it is easy to cause different responsible subjects to shirk their responsibilities.In order to protect the life and health of passengers on board to the greatest extent,and also to prevent the epidemic from spreading to the world through international cruise ships,it is of great practical significance and urgency to clarify the relevant obligations and urge them to fulfill their respective rescue obligations.The solution to the incident of the infected cruise ship first needs to clarify the main body of the rescue obligation of the infected cruise ship.In different stages,the main body of the rescue obligation is different,and the content of the rescue obligation is also different.In the voyage stage of infected cruise ships,according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,it mainly involves the rescue obligations of the flag state,coastal state,and the country of nationality of passengers.When the voyage ends and the infected cruise ship enters the port and is under the actual jurisdiction of the port state,the port state should assume the main rescue obligation and take certain sanitation measures to prevent and control the epidemic to ensure the safety of the people on board.The provisions of international law are the basis for all subjects to perform their obligations to rescue the infected cruise ship.The international obligations and responsibilities of the "Diamond Princess" cruise ship due to the epidemic,although it involves ports and ships,need to be carried out in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.Argument,but this incident is not about traditional maritime law or maritime law,but more about health law.Analysis from the perspectives of health law and human rights law is also more conducive to protecting the life and health of the people on board..The "Diamond Princess" incident also exposed problems in global health governance:the provisions of international treaties related to cruise epidemic prevention are few and fragmented;the World Health Organization has limited legislative and enforcement powers,and relevant regulations are more like a Guiding norms;no clear international cooperation mechanism between countries to respond to public health emergencies on cruise ships;insufficient core capacity to respond to public health emergencies,including medical supplies inventory and medical staffing;existing regulations related to cruise travel The lack of uniform implementation standards and the lack of a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of the State and non-governmental actors,etc.The above problems have directly led to the disagreement of the responsibility for the rescue of the infected cruise ships and the legal dilemma of the unclear legality of the epidemic disposal measures.There is a long way to go to protect the rights and interests of cruise passengers infected with the epidemic.For the international community,it is necessary to clarify the main body’s rescue obligation,improve the sanctions mechanism of the International Health Regulations,improve the relevant epidemic prevention regulations in the maritime legal system,and establish a system for epidemic prevention and control.Cooperation mechanism of cruise ships.For China,it is to adhere to the concept of a community of human health and health,strengthen the construction of domestic cruise ship epidemic prevention laws and regulations and the construction of the core health capacity of ports,optimize the cross-border epidemic information sharing mechanism,strengthen international cooperation with other countries,and actively participate in rescue.,to show the world the responsibility and responsibility of a major country.