Abstract
This Chapter aims to present a very preliminary exploration of the role and functioning of some ‘leading ideas’ that represent the most consistent attempts to balance freedom of scientific research with the need to protect participants and the community as a whole. To this end, we searched two databases, a scientific and a legal one, for some keywords (Freedom of research, Precautionary principle, Risk-based approach, Responsible research and innovation), to check the consistency of their presence and evolution over time. Without aiming to in-depth investigate the precise connotations of each term and the context in which they are used from time to time, the core idea is to provide a very first quantitative exploration, which lays the foundations for further future investigation.
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Notes
- 1.
United Nations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966; into force 3 January 1976), Article 15.
- 2.
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, replacing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which started a global effort in 2000 to tackle the indignity of poverty: https://www.africa.undp.org/content/rba/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/background/
- 3.
However, freedom of science is a considerably older legal construct, which had one of its first expressions in the Constitution of the German Empire (28 March 1849), whose Article VI, paragraph 152 proclaimed: “Science and teaching are free” (Die Wissenschaft und Lehre ist frei).
- 4.
See, for instance, Article 66 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador which prohibits “the use of genetic material and scientific experimentation that undermines human rights” and Article 25.3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia which outlaws “eugenic experiments making human organs and tissues a source of financial gain” and “reproductive cloning”.
- 5.
Such as right to academic freedom, right to enjoy the benefits of science. Source https://www.constituteproject.org/?lang=en
- 6.
- 7.
Article 191 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, 26.10.2012 Official Journal of the European Union C 326/47: CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION.
- 8.
Proposal for a Regulation Of The European Parliament And Of The Council Laying Down Harmonised Rules On Artificial Intelligence (Artificial Intelligence Act) And Amending Certain Union Legislative Acts {SEC(2021) 167 final} - {SWD(2021) 84 final} - {SWD(2021) 85 final}, Brussels, 21.4.2021. Significantly the proposed regulation does not use the word “precaution” in any part of its 85 Articles.
- 9.
Previous programs and ideas aiming at establishing a better connection between science and European citizens (2001) and at fostering public engagement and a sustained two-way dialogue between science and civil society (2007).
- 10.
Proposal for a regulation of the european parliament and of the council laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence (artificial intelligence act) and amending certain union legislative acts com/2021/206 final.
- 11.
This might be relevant in particular with regard to the literature about freedom of scientific research which is an issue typical of EU countries.
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Santosuosso, A., Tomasi, M. (2023). Scientific Knowledge and Social Responsibility. In: Valdés, E., Lecaros, J.A. (eds) Handbook of Bioethical Decisions. Volume II. Collaborative Bioethics, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29455-6_24
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