Anticipation under the human right to science: concepts, stakes and specificities

Recent years have seen the emergence of dual-use technologies and, more generally, of scientific practices that are potentially beneficial to humanity, but that may also have an irreversible impact on human beings. In those circumstances, the issue of the adequate anticipation not only of the risks (of harm) of science, but also of its (opportunities for) benefits has become more pressing. One framework from which States may derive duties and responsibilities to anticipate both those 'risks' and 'benefits' of science is the human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and to participate in that progress (in short, the 'human right to science'). Not only indeed does that right include everyone's right to participate in the scientific enterprise and its organisation and to access to and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress, but it also includes the right to be protected against the adverse effects of science. Interestingly, while some duties to anticipate grounded in the human right to science have been briefly mentioned in recent interpretations of the right, their specific content, scope and bearers have not yet been addressed in depth. Remedying this gap is the aim of this special issue and of its eight original contributions.