The status of academic freedom and institutional autonomy worldwide and its protection at institutional and national level

Background document for the 11th Session of the CEART

This paper served as a background study for the 11th Session of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART), held in Geneva, 8-12 October 2012.

This study on academic freedom sought to get first-hand perspectives on the state of academic freedom and its protection at institutional and national levels, examining what policies and mechanisms are put in place to protect this freedom, how academic freedom is threatened or curtailed, and finally what recourse may be available to the members of the academic community to complain and seek redress concerning such violations.