ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the philosophical underpinnings of the right to freedom of movement in modern international human rights law. It provides the ‘back story ’ to its inclusion in the first universal human rights instrument, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Though the immediate impetus for the inclusion of the right was the Nazi regime ’s curtailment of free movement during World War II, it arose from a much longer intellectual lineage linked to the concept of ‘liberty’. The chapter traces its development as an idea from classical times through to its inclusion in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to explore its changing character over time. The right to freedom of movement—including the right to leave and return to one’s own country—has its origins in ancient philosophy and natural law. In the modem period, some of the first to write about the right to free movement were lawyers setting out the principles of the ‘law of nations’.