C.11. Scientific session: From evidence to law: strengthening public health regulation in Europe and global health governance
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Evidence-informed decision-making is a core principle of public health law, yet translating evidence into legal and regulatory action remains methodologically and institutionally difficult. Evidence is needed not only to identify health problems, but also to justify intervention, select regulatory tools, assess proportionality, and support legitimacy, often under uncertainty, long causal pathways, cross-border risks, and political or normative pressures. Organized by the EUPHA Law and Public Health Section and co-organized by the EUPHA Global Health Section, this workshop examines how epidemiological, legal, policy, and foresight-oriented evidence becomes usable, persuasive, and actionable in public health regulation. Using European public health law as a starting point, it also considers how evidence-to-law challenges arise in global and non-EU contexts, especially where health risks cross borders, regulatory capacity and data infrastructure differ, and legal commitments must balance scientific evidence, equity, feasibility, sovereignty, and political negotiation. The presentations form a coherent sequence. Orsolya Varga will introduce the central question and examine how legal surveillance can identify gaps between major health burdens and EU regulatory responses. José Chen-Xu and Nour Mahrouseh will analyse how burden-of-disease estimates are reflected in EU legislative and policy texts. Henk Hilderink will discuss foresight and anticipatory governance as tools for resilient, future-oriented regulation. Tina D Purnat will bring a Global Health Section perspective on translating evidence into international health law, global health governance, and regulatory action across diverse settings. Monika Kosińska will bring the WHO perspective on how evidence on social determinants of health equity can support legal and policy responses across countries. After short presentations, a moderated discussion will ask participants to consider what distinguishes evidence of harm from evidence for action, how legal surveillance and foresight can strengthen accountability, and how evidence-to-law challenges differ across European and global health governance contexts. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of which forms of evidence are needed to justify legal intervention and support durable, equity-oriented public health regulation. Key messages • Public health law needs different forms of evidence to justify fair, proportionate, and effective regulatory action. • Effective regulation depends on turning evidence into feasible, equitable, and legally robust action across Europe and global health contexts.
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223663572