KNAW: Academic Freedom should be strenghtend in Law and In everyday practice
report
On 14 October 2026 the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) handed two advisory reports to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Rianne Letschert.
One report titled ‘Freedom of expression for academics and at academic institutions’, authored by a KNAW committee chaired by Ineke Sluiter, distinguished university professor at Leiden University, and one report titled ‘Freedom anchored in law. Towards stronger legal safeguards for academic freedom’, authored by a KNAW committee chaired by André Nollkaemper, distinguished university professor at the University of Amsterdam and chair of the Academy’s Committee for the Freedom of Scientific Pursuit.
Vasiliki Kosta, Associate Professor of European Law at Leiden University and co-author of the latter report on legal safeguards, presented its findings on behalf of the authoring Academy committee to the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Rianne Letschert. To better protect academic freedom, the report recommends three interrelated measures:
- The Higher Education and Research Act (WHW) needs to be worded more precisely: it should clarify who is responsible for protecting academic freedom, to whom such protection applies and under what conditions academic freedom may be restricted.
- Academic freedom should be anchored in the Constitution. That would make academic freedom less vulnerable to shifting political forces.
- Legislation is not enough in itself: public knowledge institutions must also safeguard academic freedom in everyday practice. The Academy proposes drawing up a national code of conduct on academic freedom that the individual institutions can then flesh out for themselves.
The report is available in Dutch and a summary in English