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  • 2 - ‘The Mind and Conscience Are the Person’s Most Sacred Possessions’

  • from Part I - Introduction
  • Edited by Patrick O'Callaghan, University College Cork, Bethany Shiner, Middlesex University, London
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of the Right to Freedom of Thought
    Published online:
    06 March 2025
    Print publication:
    13 March 2025, pp 15-30

  • Summary

    The abstract notion of freedom of thought, dating back at least to Roman times, has transmutated into a tangible legal right with its incorporation in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This chapter traces the genesis of the right through evolving formulations in the drafts of the Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also presents the few pertinent remarks on the right by notable figures such as Charles Malik and René Cassin as documented primarily in the Summary Records of the Commission on Human Rights between 1947 and 1949. An in-depth analysis of the travaux préparatoires yields ten significant findings for an understanding of the freedom. The analysis reaffirms some established facets of the right such as its unique twofold structure, and sheds light on hitherto unexplored facts such as the specific relation between thought, conscience, and religion. It further identifies unresolved questions and offers perspectives for contemporary interpretations of the freedom.