The project “Protecting the Mind: The European Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Neurorights Debate”, funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, examines the extent to which the European Charter of Fundamental Rights addresses the challenges arising from the rapid advances in neuroscience and neurotechnology.

Many people consider the brain to be crucial to what makes us human. Around the world, discussions are taking place in various scientific fields, in politics, and among the general public about how the law must respond to neuroscientific findings and neurotechnological applications; whether new “neuro-rights” should be recognized within the framework of human and fundamental rights; and what further developments are needed to build upon already established human and fundamental rights.

For the analysis and development of solutions, the project focuses on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. It is an ambitious codification that can be used to enrich discussions and conduct them in a far more nuanced manner than has been the case to date. Conversely, these discussions enable the revision and further development of our substantive, doctrinal, and methodological understanding of the Charter.

Among other things, the project will examine key patterns of thought and implicit assumptions, such as the distinction between body and mind or individual autonomy as a guiding paradigm. It also aims to promote an appropriate understanding of those articles of the Charter that are most relevant to the debate: the right to mental integrity, the guarantee of freedom of thought, and the right to the protection of personal data.