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What constitutional protection for freedom of scientific research?

¹ Corte d’Appello, Milano (I), Milan, Italy; Università degli Studi di Pavia, Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale European Centre for Life Sciences, Health and the Courts (Presidente), Pavia, Italy
² Procura della Repubblica per i Minorenni di Torino (I), Torino, Italy; Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale European Centre for Life Sciences, Health and the Courts, Università di Pavia (I), Pavia, Italy
³ Dottoranda in Diritto Costituzionale, Università degli Studi di Milano (I), Milan, Italy

Correspondence to:
A Santosuosso
Corte d’Appello, Milano (I) Milan, Italy; Università degli Studi di Pavia, Centro di Ricerca Interdipartimentale European Centre for Life Sciences, Health and the Courts (Presidente), Pavia, Italy; amedeo.santosuosso@unipv.it Original version received 29 January 2007

Accepted for publication 29 January 2007

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Is freedom of research protected at the constitutional level? No obvious answer can be given to this question, as European and Northern American constitutional systems are not unequivocal and the topic has not been discussed deeply enough.

Looking at the constitutions of some European and Northern American countries, it is possible to immediately note that there are essentially two ways to deal with freedom of scientific research. On the one hand, in Canada and in the US, constitutions have no specific provisions to protect freedom of scientific research, with the result that such freedom ends up having to be protected as a specific aspect of the wider freedom of thought and expression (protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution). On the other hand, other countries’ constitutional systems, mainly European ones, expressly recognise freedom of research and teaching arts and science. For instance, article 5 of the German Constitution . . . [Full text of this article]