Sebastian Porsdam Mann (University of Oxford) has posted The Right to Science or to Wissenschaft? A Chronology and Five Lessons from the Travaux Préparatoires on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Based on a detailed chronology, I argue that the drafting history of the right to science (Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) contains important lessons for contemporary scholarship. The drafters understood ‘science’ broadly as a serious search for truth, worth protecting and promoting because it contributes to human wellbeing and to the full development and expression of the human personality. To ensure these benefits of scientific progress for all (Article 15(1)b), the drafters included a series of specific implementation measures modelled on UNESCO’s constitution (Article 15(2-4)) and intended to facilitate the free exchange of persons, equipment, ideas, and information. This exchange was seen as essential for the ability of science to progress. The drafters distinguished between the development of science itself, which must be as free as possible, and the applications of scientific development, on the uses of which aims and purposes may legitimately be imposed to prevent abuses. On the basis of this historical understanding, I argue that one object and purpose of the right to science is to facilitate, and encourage participation in, the search for truth for the benefit of all, and call for further discussion of the scope of ‘science’.
