INTERNATIONAL LEGAL REGULATION OF ACADEMIC FREEDOMS AS AN ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE AUTONOMY OF A HIGHER EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT

Abstract

Academic freedom is a part of international educational law. It is interpreted as the principle on which the activities of leading world universities are built. Academic freedom dates back to the time of the emergence of universities and is closely linked to their autonomy and corporate rights. The University operates in the free influence environment. Its activities are designed to encourage researchers to have their critical and optimistic view of the monolith and unity of knowledge, so that they are aware of the values of human experience from the position of the university, and eventually could participate in people education and upbringing, in the preservation and strengthening of culture, which includes the university too. That is why research on international legal regulation of academic freedoms is relevant.Academic freedom is the provision of certain rights to education workers (faculty members, academics and students of higher education institutions). Means the opportunity for the teacher to teach the subject freely at his own discreption, choose topics and methods for scientific research, and for the student – to receive knowledge according to their inclinations and needs. The provided academic freedom implies the academic responsibility of the educational institution for creating the optimal conditions for the free search of truth.The main study directions of the problem of academic freedoms: philosophical, pedagogical, legal.After analyzing the main international documents in the field of higher education (the Lima Declaration “On Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Higher Educational Institutions”, the Great Charter of European Universities (Magna Charta Universitatum), Recommendation on the status of teaching staff of higher education institutions, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Declaration of Academic Freedom (human rights in scientific activities), The “Ethical Code” of the members of the Fulbright Society of Ukraine, the World Declaration on Higher Education for the XXI Century: Approaches and Practical Measures, the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge, the Convention on the Formation of the Future, the Lisbon Declaration, the Charter of the Universities of Ukraine “Academic Freedoms, Autonomy and education”) it was found that autonomy and academic freedom occupy a prominent place in international documents. These concepts are even the title components of many of them. Summarizing the main provisions of these documents, we see that academic freedom is closely linked to the autonomy of a higher educational establishment. Scientific achievements should be used only for the benefit of humanity, and modern information and communication technologies should contribute to the free dissemination of scientific research results. Academic freedoms in higher education are one of the fundamental human rights regulated by important international law documents that ensure its development, transfer of cultural experience to other generations. The main components of academic freedom are freedom of teaching, learning and research (sometimes we encounter freedom of creativity, knowledge dissemination). Academic freedoms are one of the leading principles of effective activity of higher educational establishment. The necessary condition for academic freedoms is the autonomy of a higher educational establishment.