Academic Freedom as a Constitutionally Guaranteed Right (Comparative Legal Analysis Based on the Law of Germany, the United States and Georgia)

Abstract

The external control of the educational institutions for political purposes had been a regular practice in the Soviet Union. As a result, political propaganda used to substitute the reality. Any opinion contradicting the established regime was prohibited, punished, and banned from the educational institutions. Prior to the forced Sovietization of Georgia, there were progressive safeguards established to ensure freedom in the field of education. Freedom of teaching was recognized by the Constitution. However, the rule enshrined in the first Constitution on academic freedom has never been applied in practice due to the conquest of Georgia by Russia. After the restoration of independence, the 1995 Constitution set forth the right to education. However, in contrast to the first Constitution, it did not enshrine the rule on the freedom of teaching and research. The recent constitutional amendments recognized academic freedom as a constitutional right and hence it gained more importance to realize the legal substance of academic freedom. This article reviews the importance of academic freedom, as a constitutionally guaranteed right, as well as its substance and standards of restriction on the basis of analysis of legislation, the opinions in the academic literature, and the case-law of the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States of America and Georgia.

Keywords

• independent constitutional right
• quality of education
• educational institutions
• freedom of teaching
• freedom of research
• restoration of independence
• equality