Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia

The Department of Foundations of Law in the Faculty of Law cordially invites you to the next meeting of the Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia. On 1 October, our speaker is Roland Pierik from Maastricht University, Faculty of Law - Title: Why the ‘right to bodily integrity’ is redundant in discussions on childhood vaccination

Abstract: 
This article argues that the right to bodily integrity is much more redundant in discussions about childhood vaccination than is commonly assumed. The internal logic of the right to bodily integrity presupposes a competent person who can autonomously accept or refuse a medical intervention, which is obviously not the case with children aged four or younger. The paper, therefore, presents an alternative and more compelling argument in favour of mandatory childhood vaccination, which revolves around a proportional weighing of other fundamental rights. On the one hand, the right of non-vaccinating parents to the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and their right to family life, as enshrined in Articles 9 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. On the other hand, the child’s right to protection of their best interests, as enshrined in Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Based on this argument, the paper defends mandatory childhood vaccination in situations where group-level protection, i.e., the so-called herd immunity, is (or is about to be) undermined.


The colloquium’s format is pre-read. Those attending are expected to have read the text in advance. The draft will be circulated in advance.

Convenors:
Lukasz Dziedzic
Sebastian Reyes Molina
Roland Pierik

The colloquia will take place physically and online. The Zoom link for the online sessions will be distributed later.