Bill to Better Recognize and Protect the Academic Freedom of Researcher-Teachers, Teachers, and Researchers
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This French legislative proposal formally defines and strengthens the concept of academic freedom by breaking it down into three distinct components: freedom of research, freedom of expression, and freedom of teaching. The bill aims to provide a clearer legal foundation for the rights of academics working in higher education and research institutions. A central innovation of the bill is the creation of a new criminal offense specifically targeting obstruction of academic freedom. This would make it illegal to interfere with or hinder the exercise of an academic's research, teaching, or expressive activities, providing enforceable legal recourse beyond existing general protections. The bill also enshrines functional protection (protection fonctionnelle) for researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers who are targeted by so-called SLAPP suits (strategic lawsuits against public participation, referred to as procédures-bâillon in French). This ensures that academics facing abusive litigation designed to silence them can receive institutional and legal support from the state.
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Key Changes
- Formal legal definition of academic freedom split into three components: freedom of research, freedom of expression, and freedom of teaching
- Creation of a new criminal offense for obstruction of academic freedom (délit d'entrave), providing enforceable penalties for interference with academic activities
- Extension of state functional protection (protection fonctionnelle) to researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers targeted by abusive SLAPP lawsuits
+ 2 more changes with Pro
Obligations
What this law requires
Higher education and research institutions must recognize and protect freedom of research as a component of academic freedom for their employed researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers
Higher education and research institutions must recognize and protect freedom of expression as a component of academic freedom for their employed researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers
Higher education and research institutions must recognize and protect freedom of teaching as a component of academic freedom for their employed researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers
Individuals and entities are prohibited from obstructing or hindering the exercise of academic freedom (research, teaching, or expression) by researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers
The State must provide functional protection (protection fonctionnelle) to researcher-teachers, teachers, and researchers targeted by SLAPP suits (procédures-bâillon)