Legal Freedom: Concept and Contents

Abstract

Judgements about the freedom enjoyed by individuals play an important role in assessing different political constellations. Theories of liberalism, for instance, all express the idea that individuals should have certain rights and liberties. Freedom judgements also play an important role in the daily practice of political decision making. The foreign policies of many western countries are partly based on other countries’ respect for individual freedom; the process of European integration is often defended in terms of the increase in individual freedom, etc.