Law and Good Goverance

Good governance
Law is not only concerned with discrete interventions to safeguard and promote the public’s health
and safety. The rule of law also requires “good governance” that ensures the fair and efficient
operation of public institutions and social structures. Good governance includes setting priorities,
monitoring outcomes, transparency, civil society participation, anti-corruption and accountability. It
requires a legal infrastructure with impartial courts and tribunals and the regulatory capacity to
effectively implement legal rules. In short, good governance encompasses all the norms, processes
and institutions of a just society that passes and enforces laws for the common good and with an
equal hand.
There is a saying that goes to the heart of this report on Advancing the Right to Health: “Law is but
the means, health and justice are the ends”. We hope that our examination of what countries can do
to protect the health and nurture the dignity of all peoples will contribute to a greater
understanding, and effective use, of the law in advancing the right to health.