International governance of neurotechnology
The emerging, still-fragmented web of transnational instruments addressing neurotech. Landmarks include the OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology (2019) — the first international standard, with nine non-binding principles — the UNESCO Recommendation (2025), work by the Council of Europe on human rights and biomedicine, and studies commissioned through UN human-rights bodies.
These instruments are mostly soft law, overlapping in principle but differing in scope and enforcement. There is no binding treaty specific to neurotechnology and no single body with jurisdiction over it; governance is distributed across health regulators, data-protection authorities, human-rights systems, and standards organizations.
A recurring policy question is whether to pursue a dedicated binding instrument (a 'neuro-treaty') or to adapt existing regimes — human rights, medical-device regulation, data protection — to cover neurotech. Most current momentum is on adaptation plus soft-law coordination rather than on a new treaty.