Public Health as a Constitutional Principle

Area of Science:

• Political Science
• Public Health Policy
• Constitutional Law

Background:

• Public health is often treated as an administrative function within government.
• This administrative approach leads to competition for resources and policy priority.
• The state's core responsibility for public health is frequently overlooked in practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To argue that public health should be a state priority.
• To establish public health as a normative principle constituting the modern state.
• To differentiate public health as a constitutional principle from the constitutional right to health.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of public health as a normative principle.
• Examination of the state's obligations derived from public health as a constitutional principle.
• Distinction between public health as a constitutional principle and the right to health.

Main Results:

• Public health is identified as a foundational normative principle that shapes the modern state.
• The state has a constitutional demand to promote and preserve public health.
• Public health as a constitutional principle is distinct from the constitutional right to health.

Conclusions:

• Prioritizing public health is an urgent necessity for the modern state.
• Public health's importance transcends policy needs, resting on its status as a foundational normative principle.
• The state's legitimacy and function are intrinsically linked to its commitment to public health.