Introduction to Global Perspectives on Freedom of Association

Cahill, Maria; Newman, Dwight; Ó Conaill, Seán

Introduction to Global Perspectives on Freedom of Association

Files

Societas WP22_Global Perspectives_MC SOC DN.pdf(426.15 KB)

Published Version

Date

2025-01-01

Authors

Cahill, Maria

Newman, Dwight

Ó Conaill, Seán

Publisher

School of Law, University College Cork

Abstract

“In democratic countries, the science of association is the mother science; the progress of all the others depends on the progress of that one. … In order that [people] remain civilised or become so, the art of associating must be developed and perfected among them...” The promise of freedom of association has not yet been realised, at least in part because we have not explored the science of this fundamental right. This collection hopes to change that by showcasing how the right to freedom of association is protected by legal systems and courts around the world. The right to freedom of association is one of the fundamental human rights recognised by bills of rights in constitutions and international treaties. It protects individuals in their associational life, as members of trade unions and political parties, students’ societies and residents’ associations, sports clubs and charitable associations, cultural and religious associations. It sits alongside rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of religion and (often in the same provision as) freedom of assembly, without being coterminous with any of those rights. Legal articulations of the right to freedom of association broadly focus on there being several people who have voluntarily joined together in a stable way to pursue a particular set of purposes. The right to freedom of association is addressed to the individual, but it cannot be exercised alone and concerns the individual as a social being. It contains, first of all, the right to form and the right to join an association, but it may also be interpreted to include a right of individuals not to associate where they wish to leave or refuse to join a particular association as well as the right of the association qua association to govern its own affairs. Thus, the content and scope of the right is complex, and it draws the courts into a nexus of relationships involving individual, association and state.

Keywords

Freedom of association , Global Perspectives on Freedom of Association , ~Law - Societās Working Paper Series~

Citation

Cahill, M., Newman, D. and Ó Conaill, S. (2025) 'Introduction to Global Perspectives on Freedom of Association', Societās Working Paper 22/2025 (15pp). Cork: School of Law, University College Cork.