LAUSR

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health law as “the area of law concerned with the health of individuals and populations, the provision of health care and the operation of the health care system” (1). The public health law “includes laws that are intended as health interventions, laws that define the powers, duties and boundaries of health agencies and systems, and laws that have an impact on health but were not enacted with population health in mind” (2). Law is a traditional public health tool that has made numerous important contributions to the major public health achievements of the 20th century including school immunization laws that helped reduce the rates of infectious disease and tobacco control laws that helped reduce the rates of chronic disease in the United States of America (3). Public health law research consists of scientifically studying law and legal practices in relation to population health (3). Although a relatively new field it holds great potential for supporting evidence-based policy making for the improvement of population health (3). Through mapping studies such as this one, public health law research can illuminate what has been done, and thus, what kind of action it is necessary for various government units to take in order to update the health-related legal infrastructure. Thus, the objective of this study is the compilation of the health laws of Pakistan and their critical review and analysis informed by informal discussions with federal and provincial policy-makers.