Citizen Rights in a Critical Juncture: Comparing the EU and ASEAN Legal Response in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The article's primary objective is to explore and compare the legal
instrument adopted by regional organisations, specifically the EU and ASEAN,
to impose restrictions on free movement rights during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
This article uses hard and soft law classifications to denote the great number of
types and forms of legal instruments. Furthermore, this article aims to explain
the pattern of regional organisations adopting legal tools to govern restrictions
on free movement rights. Legal research methodologies analyse legal
instruments from the EU and ASEAN's official legal databases with doctrinal
and comparative perspectives. The study's findings revealed two distinct trends
of adopting various types of legal instruments by the EU and ASEAN.
Additionally, the choice of this type of legal instrument has ramifications for
guaranteeing the practical application of citizen rights, particularly the right to
freedom of movement.