1. Definition
The basic right of freedom of association protects the right to form, participate in, join, and leave associations (i.e. voluntary, long-term, organized groups. Until the 1850s, freedom of association and freedom of assembly were understood to be different manifestations of a broad freedom of association, which might range in form from corporations to popular assemblies. The distinction between assemblies and associations (see Society [association]) was thought to lie in…