There is no democratic society without free science, research and the university as such. The right to academic freedom is a fundamental democratic right. Although it is guaranteed by national as well as international laws, today this fundamental right faces unprecedented challenges and is increasingly under pressure in a growing number of countries. This paper turns attention to the very essence of academic freedom. The aim is to look at the term of academic freedom, to examine the concept of a right to academic freedom trying to identify its content, interrelated dimensions, relationship with the other rights. The right to academic freedom as an individual and as an institutional right is analysed taking into account the actual legal practice of international courts. In addition to this, this paper pays particular attention to the right of academics to participate in public debates expressing ideas outside the campus, what needs to be treated as a part of the right to academic freedom.
