Human dignity and judicial interpretation of human rights

European Journal of International Law

Volumn 19, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 655-724

  McCrudden, Christopher ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 54949138121     PISSN: 09385428     EISSN: 14643596     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/ejil/chn043     Document Type: Article

References (490)

1. Bob Dylan, Dignity (1963).
2. Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, 59 Stat 1031, UNTS 993, 3 Bevans 1153.
3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, GA Res 217A (III), UN Doc A/810, at 71 (1948).
4. See, generally, D. Kretzmer and E. Klein, The Concept of Human Dignity in Human Rights Discourse (2002).
5. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), GA Res 2200A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR Supp (No 16), at 49, UN Doc A/6316 (1966), 993 UNTS 3;
6. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), GA Res 2200A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR Supp (No. 16), at 52, UN Doc A/6316 (1966), 999 UNTS 171.
7. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 US 833 (1992).
8. Wackenheim v. France, Comm. No. 854/1999: France, 26 Feb. 2002, UN Doc CCPR/C/75/D/854/1999.
9. National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v. Minister of Justice, 6 BHRC 127 (CC, 1998), 1998 (12) BCLR 1517 (CC).
10. Pretty v. United Kingdom, 35 EHRR (2002) 1.
11. The entry by Bayertz, 'Menschenwürde', in H.G. Sandkühler (ed.), Enzyklopädie Philosophie (1999), Band 1, at 824-826, is particularly helpful. I am grateful to Michael Rosen for drawing it to my attention and for sharing with me his illuminating 2007 Boston University Benedict lectures: '"The Shibboleth of All Empty-headed Moralists": The Place of Dignity in Ethics and Political Philosophy', which helped me enormously in understanding the role of dignity in the history of ideas.
12. Cancik, '"Dignity of Man" and "Personal" in Stoic Anthropology: Some Remarks on Cicero, De Officiis I 105-107', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 19.
13. The Bill of Rights (Act) 1689 Cap II (36), Art. II. Compare the Act of Settlement 1701.
14. Chaskalson, 'Human Dignity as a Constitutional Value', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 133, 135.
15. Kroeze, 'Human Dignity in Constitutional Law in South Africa', in European Commission for Democracy Through Law, The Principle of Respect for Human Dignity (Proceedings of the UniDem Seminar, Montpellier, 2-6 July 1998), (1998), available at: www.venice.coe.int/ docs/1998/CDL-STD(1998)026-e.asp), at 87, 88.
16. Honoré has identified this development with Ulpian and links this with contemporary human rights law developments, in that in a society which recognizes wrongs to personality, dignity serves among other things to point to the respects in which all human beings are equal and in which that equality is to be given effect in law: See T. Honoré, Ulpian: Pioneer of Human Rights (2nd edn, 2002).
17. Resnick and Suk, 'Adding Insult to Injury: Questioning the Role of Dignity in Conceptions of Sovereignty', 55 Stanford L Rev (2003) 1921.
18. Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, 500 UNTS 95, Arts 22, 29.
19. Cicero, De Officiis, I, at 30.
20. DiSanto, 'The Threat of Commodity-consciousness to Human Dignity', in R. Duffy and A. Gambatese, Made in God's Image: The Catholic Vision of Human Dignity (1999) 54, at 57.
21. Arieli, 'On the Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for the Emergence of the Dignity of Man and His Rights', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 1, 9.
22. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part One: The Profession of Faith, Section 2: The Profession of the Christian Faith, Chap. 1, Art. 1, paras. 6 and 356-357, available at: www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/ p1s2c1p6.htm (internal citation omitted).
23. H. Grotius, De Jure Belli ac Pacis (trans. A.C. Campbell, London, 1814), Bk II, chap. 19.
24. In ibid., Bk II, chap. 19.
25. Compare the provisions in bilateral agreements relating to the preservation of the dignity and aesthetic character of the cemeteries by the state in which the cemeteries are located, where the cemeteries contain the war dead of another state. See, e.g., Netherlands-US Agreement on American Military Cemeteries, 1970, TIAS 6979; US-Panama Agreement Concerning the Use of Corozal Cemetry, 1999.
26. See J. Finnis, Aquinas (1998), at 176-180, 280.
27. Arieli, supra note 19, at 10.
28. P. della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man (trans. C. Glenn Wallis, ed. Hackett Publishing Company, 1965, with an Introduction by Paul J.W. Miller), at 5.
29. Arieli, supra note 19, at 12.
30. Kant, 'Metaphysics of Morals', Section 38 of the Doctrine of Virtue (Ak. 6:462).
31. Bognetti, 'The Concept of Human Dignity in European and U.S. Constitutionalism', in G. Nolte (ed.), European and US Constitutionalism, Science and Technique of Democracy No. 37 (2005), at 75, 79.
32. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789, Art. 6: '[a]ll citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents'.
33. T. Paine, Rights of Man: Part the First (1791).
34. Wordsworth, The Prelude (1805), Book Thirteenth, lines 76-88.
35. C. Renouvier, Manuel Républicain de l'homme et du citoyen ((1848); with introduction by M. Agulhon, 1981), at 93. I am grateful to Rebecca Scott for drawing my attention to this reference.
36. Carozza, 'From Conquest to Constitutions: Retrieving a Latin American Tradition of the Idea of Human Rights', 25 Human Rights Quarterly (2003) 281, at 300.
37. Cancik, supra note 11, at 36.
38. Simón Bolivar, Message to the Congress of Bolivia (Lima, 25 May 1826),
39. quoted in Carozza, supra note 33, at 301.
40. Decree of 27 Apr. 1848, Preamble.
41. Alan Flanders has argued, e.g., that the value of a trade union to its members is 'less in its economic achievement than in its capacity to protect their dignity': A. Flanders, Management and Unions (1970), at 239.
42. Eckert, 'Legal Roots of Human Dignity in German Law', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 41, 47.
43. A. Schopenhauer, The Basis of Morality (trans. and intro. by A.B. Bullock, 2005), Pt II, Critique of Kant's Basis of Ethics.
44. Marx, 'Moralising Criticism and Critical Morality, a Contribution to German Cultural History Contra Karl Heinzen', Deutsche-Brüsseler-Zeitung Nos 86, 87, 90, 92, and 94, 28 and 31 Oct., 11, 18, and 25 Nov. 1847.
45. K. Ansell-Pearson and C. Diethe (eds), Nietzsch: On the Genealogy of Morality, 'The Greek State' (1994), at 176, 185.
46. Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1891). This and the documents in the following four footnotes are available at: www.vatican.va.
47. See also C.E. Curran, Catholic Social Teaching, 1891-Present (2002).
48. Pope Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno (1931).
49. Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris (1963).
50. Gaudium et Spes, Vatican Council II (1965).
51. Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio (1967);
52. Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus (1991).
53. E.g., J. Maritain, Man and the State (1998).
54. See, e.g., Beyleveld and Brownsword, 'Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Human Genetics', 61 MLR (1998) 661. An article by Macklin, 'Dignity is a Useless Concept', 327 British Medical J (2003) 1419, was highly critical of the use of dignity language in this context. Recently, the (US) President's Council on Bioethics published a set of essays exploring this theme: Human Dignity and Bioethics: Essays Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics (2008), available at: www.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/index.html, which has generated some hostile commentary
55. see Pinker, 'The Stupidity of Dignity', New Republic, 28 May 2008, available at: www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=d8731cf4-e87b-4d88-b7e7- f5059cd0bfbd.
56. Here are a few. Vice Admiral Thad Allen, the federal officer in charge of recovering the dead after Hurricane Katrina told a news conference: '[w]e are mindful of the dignity needed to be afforded each [of the dead]'. A report on the eviction of Kalahari Bushmen from their ancestral lands in Botswana (25 July 2005) included an interview with a young Bushman who had been forced to live in a settlement outside his ancestral lands. He said, 'There is nothing here for me. My land is my dignity'. (I am grateful to Michael Rosen for drawing this to my attention.)
57. Nelson Mandela, Trafalgar Square, 3 Feb. 2005.
58. See www.aph.gov.au/house/Rudd_Speech.pdf.
59. Here are just some examples: M. Nussbaum, Women and Human Development: The Capabilities Approach (2000);
60. M. Nussbaum, Frontiers of Justice: Disability, Nationality, Species Membership (2006);
61. R. Dworkin, Is Democracy Possible Here? Principles for a New Political Debate (2008);
62. J. Feinberg, Social Philosophy (1973);
63. J. Griffin, On Human Rights (2008);
64. Gewirth, 'Human Dignity as the Basis of Rights', in M.J. Meyer and W.A. Parent (eds), The Constitution of Rights (1992), at 10;
65. Waldron, 'Dignity and Rank', 48 Archives européennes de sociologie (2007) 201;
66. Lee and George, 'The Nature and Basis of Dignity', 21 Ratio Juris (2008) 173;
67. Rosen, supra note 10.
68. But see Decree of 27 Apr. 1848 of the French Republic abolishing slavery in all French colonies and possessions, referring to slavery as an 'affront to human dignity'.
69. Iglesias, 'Bedrock Truths and the Dignity of the Individual', 4 Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture (2001) 114.
70. Art. 3c.
71. Reich Constitution of 11 Aug. 1919, Art. 151.
72. Pt I; General Provisions.
73. Constitution of Portugal, 1933, Art. 45.
74. Preamble.
75. Art. 32.
76. 'Salazar used Quadragesimo Anno as a blueprint for his government', in Manuel and Mott, 'Une Messe est Possible': The Imbroglio of the Catholic Church in Contemporary Latin Europe (CES Working Papers, Series No. 133 (2004)), at 10, available at: www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/ publications/ManuelMott.pdf
77. 'The Spanish State proclaims as a guiding principle of its acts, respect for the dignity, integrity and freedom of the human person...'
78. Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica, 1949, Arts 33 and 56.
79. Art. 24.
80. The Constitution of the Italian Republic, 1948, Arts 3, 27, and 41.
81. Chap. 1, Art. 1(1).
82. The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, 1948.
83. Preamble.
84. Freidrich, 'The Political Theory of the New Democratic Constitutions', 12 Rev of Politics (1950) 215, at 217.
85. See Andries, 'On the German Constitution's Fifthieth Anniversary: Jacques Maritain and the 1949 Basic Law (Grundgesetz)', 13 Emory Int'l L Rev (1999) 1.
86. Walter, 'Human Dignity in German Constitutional Law', in European Commission for Democracy through Law, supra note 14, at 24, 26.
87. Grundgesetz, Art. 1(1).
88. The Dijon Declaration, 1936, translated in H.G. Wells, The Rights of Man or What Are We Fighting For? (1940). I am grateful to Brian Simpson for providing many of the references in the following para.
89. Cited in Dicke, 'The Founding Function of Human Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 111, 113.
90. E/HR/1, 22 Apr. 1946. Original in Spanish.
91. G. Gurvitch, The Bill of Social Rights (1946), at Art. 1.
92. American Federation of Labor, E/CT.2/2, 20 Aug. 1946.
93. United Nations, Yearbook on Human Rights for 1947 (1949), at 488.
94. US Proposals for a Human Rights Convention (Nov. 1947), E/CN.4/37.
95. It was adopted by the nations of the Americas at the Ninth International Conference of American States in Bogotá, Colombia, in Apr. 1948, the same meeting that adopted the Charter of the Organization of American States and thereby created the OAS.
96. Text of Bill of Rights of European Movement, 4 May 1948.
97. 'Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field' (Lieber Code), 24 Apr. 1863, Art. 75.
98. First draft Convention adopted in Monaco (Sanitary cities and localities), 27 July 1934, Art. 3.
99. See 'Remarks and Proposals submitted by the International Committee of the Red Cross', Document for the consideration of Governments invited by the Swiss Federal Council to attend the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva (21 Apr. 1949) (Feb. 1949), at 8.
100. Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva, 12 Aug. 1949, Art. 3.
101. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug. 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Con. icts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977.
102. Ibid.
103. Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug. 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Con. icts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.
104. See, e.g., the Agreement for and Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, 16 Jan. 2002, Art. 3, prohibiting '[o]utrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault'; Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan citizens responsible for genocide and other such violations committed in the territory of neighbouring States, between 1 Jan. 1994 and 31 Dec. 1994, Art. 4; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 17 July 1998, Art. 8, prohibiting 'outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment'.
105. Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and practices Similar to Slavery 1956, 226 UNTS 3, Preamble.
106. C156 Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981; C122 Employment Policy Convention, 1964; C111 Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958; C107 Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957; C104 (Shelved) Abolition of Penal Sanctions (Indigenous Workers) Convention, 1955.
107. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination GA Res 2106 (XX), Annex, 20 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 14) at 47, UN Doc A/6014 (1966), 660 UNTS 195, Preamble; ICESCR, supra note 5, Preamble; ICCPR, supra note 5, Preamble.
108. Ibid., Art. 10.
109. ICESCR, supra note 5, Art. 13.
110. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, GA Res 34/180, 34 UN GAOR Supp (No. 46), at 193, UN Doc A/34/46, Preamble.
111. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, GA Res 39/46, annex, 39 UN GAOR Supp (No. 51), at 197, UN Doc A/39/51 (1984), Preamble.
112. GA Res. 41/120, 4 Dec. 1986, quoted in A. Clapham, Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors (2006), at 538.
113. Convention on the Rights of the Child, GA Res 44/25, annex, 44 UN GAOR Supp (No 49), at 167, UN Doc A/44/49 (1989), Preamble.
114. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, GA Res 45/158, annex, 45 UN GAOR Supp (No. 49A), at 262, UN Doc A/45/49 (1990), Arts 17 and 70.
115. International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, E/CN 4/2005/WG 22/WP 1/Rev 4 (2005), Art. 19.
116. International Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities, GA Res A/61/611 (2006), Preamble, Arts 3, 8, 16, 24, and 25.
117. The Preamble to the Agreement establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development of 1977, TIAS 8765, 1059 UNTS 191, recognizes 'that the continuing food problem of the world is afflicting a large segment of the people of the developing countries and is jeopardizing the most fundamental principles and values associated with the right to life and human dignity'.
118. Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, GA Res 44/128, annex, 44 UN GAOR Supp (No. 49), at 207, UN Doc A/44/49 (1989), Preamble.
119. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 14-25 June 1993, UN Doc A/CONF 157/24 (Pt 1), at 20 (1993), Preamble.
120. Ibid., Art. 20.
121. Ibid., Art. 55.
122. Ibid., Art. 18.
123. Ibid., Art. 25.
124. Ibid., Art. 11.
125. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, supra note 99, Art. 17.
126. Convention on the Rights of the Child, supra note 98, Art. 28;
127. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, supra note 101, Art. 24.
128. Convention on the Rights of the Child, supra note 98, Arts 37 and Art. 40.
129. International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, supra note 99, Art. 70.
130. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, supra note 101, Art. 25.
131. Ibid., Art. 16.
132. Convention on the Rights of the Child, supra note 98, Art. 39;
133. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, supra note 101, Art. 3; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Arts 1 and 3.
134. Ibid., Art. 8;
135. International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, supra note 100, Art. 24;
136. Convention on the Rights of the Child, supra note 98, Art. 23.
137. C107 Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention, 1957, supra note 91, Art. 2; UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Adopted by GA Res 61/295 on 13 Sept. 2007, Arts 15 and 43.
138. C185 Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003, at para. 8; International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, supra note 100, Art. 19.
139. The UNESCO Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, 1997, UN GA Res AIRES/53/152, 9 Dec. 1998, gave a central role to the idea of human dignity: Preamble, Arts 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15, 21, and 24.
140. Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women 'Convention of Belem do Para', 33 ILM (1994) 1534, Preamble; Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, OAS Treaty Series No. 67, 25 ILM (1992) 519, Preamble; American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, OAS Res XXX (1948), American Convention on Human Rights, OAS Treaty Series No. 36, 1144 UNTS 123, Preamble, Arts 6 and 11.
141. League of Arab States, Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, 22 May 2004, 12 Int'l Human Rights Rep (2005) 893: '[b]ased on the faith of the Arab nation in the dignity of the human person whom God has exalted ever since the beginning of creation and in the fact that the Arab homeland is the cradle of religions and civilizations whose lofty human values af. rm the human right to a decent life based on freedom, justice and equality...'.
142. Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2000, reprinted in 1 African Human Rights LJ (2001) 40, Art. 3; African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, 1981, 21 ILM (1982) 58, Preamble; Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, 1998, OAU Doc OAU/LEG/EXP/AFCHPR/ PROT/III, Preamble.
143. Protocol 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), Council of Europe, CETS No. 184, Preamble.
144. ECHR, 213 UNTS 222.
145. European Social Charter (Revised), ETS No. 163 (1996), Preamble, Art. 26.
146. Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, CETS No. 164 (1997), Preamble, Art. 1.
147. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000/C 364/01), OJ (2000) C 364/1, Preamble, Arts 1, 25, and 31.
148. African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, supra note 123, Art. 5;
149. American Convention on Human Rights, supra note 121, Art. 6.
150. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/ 24.9/49 (1990), Art. 13; Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, reprinted in 12 Int'l Human Rights Rep (2005) 893, Art. 40.
151. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, supra note 130, Arts 20 and 21;
152. Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, supra note 130, Arts 17 and 33.
153. The European Community's prohibition of sexual harassment is essentially based on the need to promote the dignity of the individual in the workplace. Council Dir 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin, OJ (2000) L 180/22, Art. 3; Council Dir 2000/78/EC of 27 Nov. 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, OJ (2001) L 303/16, Art. 3; Dir 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast), OJ (2006) L 204/23, Art. 2; Council Dir 2004/113/EC of 13 Dec. 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services, OJ (2004) L 373/37, Art. 2. See Friedman and Whitman, 'The European Transformation of Harassment Law: Discrimination Versus Dignity', 9 Columbia J European L (2003) 241.
154. American Convention on Human Rights, supra note 121, Art. 5; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, supra note 130, Art. 17;
155. Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, supra note 130, Art. 20.
156. Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, 1990, UN GAOR, World Conference on Human Rights, 4th Sess., Agenda Item 5, UN Doc A/CONF.157/ PC/62/Add.18 (1993), Art. 20.
157. Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, OAS Treaty Series No 69 (1988), Art. 13;
158. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, supra note 130, Art. 11.
159. Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, 33 ILM (1994) 1429, Preamble.
160. Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women, supra note 121, Arts 4 and 8.
161. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicines: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, Council of Europe CETS No 164 (1997), Preamble, Art. 1; Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine concerning Biomedical Research, Council of Europe CETS No 195 (2004), Preamble, Art. 1.
162. Constitution of the Hellenic Republic, 9 June 1975, Art. 7; Constitution of the Kingdom of Spain, 27 Dec. 1978, Art. 10; Constitution of the Portugese Republic, 2 Apr. 1976, Arts, 1, 26, and 59.
163. Constitution of the Republic of Hungary, Act XX of 1949, as amended, Art. 54; Constitution of the Czech Republic (Constitution Act No. 1/1993 of 16 Dec. 1992), Preamble; Charter of fundamental rights and basic freedoms (Resolution of the Presidium of the Czech National Council of 16 Dec. 1992, Act No. 2/1992); Constitution of Estonia, 28 June 1992, Art. 10; Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, 25 Oct. 1992, Art. 21; Constitution of the Republic of Poland, 2 Apr. 1997, Preamble, Arts 30 and 41; Constitution of the Republic of Slovakia, 23 Dec. 1991, Arts 21 and 34; Constitution of the Slovak Republic, 1 Sept. 1992, Arts 12 and 19.
164. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (108 of 1996), ss 1, 7, 10, 35, 36, 39, 165, 181, 196, and Sched 2.
165. (Israel) Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (17 Mar. 1992, amended 9 Mar. 1994).
166. Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, supra note 122, Art. 2(3): '[a]ll forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity and a major barrier to the exercise of the fundamental rights of peoples; all such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination'.
167. See also African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, supra note 123, Preamble.
168. Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, supra note 134, Art. 22:'... Information is a vital necessity to society. It may not be exploited or misused in such a way as may violate sanctities and the dignity of Prophets, undermine moral and ethical values or disintegrate, corrupt or harm society or weaken its faith.'
169. American Convention on Human Rights, supra note 121, Art. 11(1):' [e]veryone has the right to have his honour respected and his dignity recognized'.
170. The Protocol of Amendment to the Charter of the Organization of American States (Protocol of Buenos Aires), OAS Treaty Series No. 1-A, provides in Art. 43(a), that '[a]ll human beings, without distinction as to race, sex, nationality, creed, or social condition, have a right to material well-being and to their spiritual development, under circumstances of liberty, dignity, equality of opportunity, and economic security'. Art. 43(b) provides, '[w]ork is a right and a social duty, it gives dignity to the one who performs it...'. The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, supra note 121, Preamble, states: '[t]he fulfillment of duty by each individual is a prerequisite to the rights of all. Rights and duties are interrelated in every social and political activity of man. While rights exalt individual liberty, duties express the dignity of that liberty.'
171. Ibid., Art. 23: '[e]very person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home';
172. European Social Charter (revised), supra note 126, Art. 26 states: '[w]ith a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right of all workers to protection of their dignity at work, the Parties undertake, in consultation with employers' and workers' organisations: 1. to promote... prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace or in relation to work and to take all appropriate measures to protect workers from such conduct'.
173. The Preamble to ibid. states: 'The Parties accept as the aim of their policy, to be pursued by all appropriate means both national and international in character, the attainment of conditions in which the following rights and principles may be effectively realized... 26. All workers have the right to dignity at work. 'See also Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, OAS Treaty Series No. 69 (1998), Preamble.
174. Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, supra note 134, Art. 6(a): '[w]oman is equal to man in human dignity, and has her own rights to enjoy as well as duties to perform, and has her own civil entity and financial independence, and the right to retain her name and lineage. (b) The husband is responsible for the maintenance and welfare of the family.' The Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights, supra note 130, Art. 3(3), states: '[m]en and women are equal in respect of human dignity, rights and obligations within the framework of the positive discrimination established in favour of women by the Islamic Shariah, other divine laws and by applicable laws and legal instruments. Accordingly, each State party pledges to take all the requisite measures to guarantee equal opportunities and effective equality between men and women in the enjoyment of all the rights set out in this Charter.'
175. Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, supra note 134, Art.1(a): '[a]ll human beings form one family whose members are united by their subordination to Allah and descent from Adam. All men are equal in terms of basic human dignity and basic obligations and responsibilities, without any discrimination on the basis of race, colour, language, belief, sex, religion, political affiliation, social status or other considerations. The true religion is the guarantee for enhancing such dignity along the path to human integrity.'
176. Shultziner, 'Human Dignity - Function and Meanings', 3(3) Global Jurist Topics (2003) 5, at fn. 24.
177. Bunreacht Na hÉireann (1937), Preamble: '[i]n the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,... Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ... And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured...'
178. See, supra notes 122, 130, and 134.
179. R.B. Russell, A History of the United Nations Charter (1958), at 911-913, although it did refer to 'the sanctity and ultimate value of human personality...'.
180. See also Marshall, 'Smuts and the Preamble to the UN Charter', 358 The Round Table (2001) 55.
181. Russell, supra note 153, at 916.
182. Smuts' original phrase was changed to 'the dignity and value of the human person'. Mary Ann Glendon reports Charles Malik, a prominent member of the UN Human Rights Commission at the time, as saying that the term had been inserted at the suggestion of Smuts: M.A. Glendon, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2001), at 144.
183. Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organisation (Declaration of Philadelphia), May 1944.
184. Ibid., II.
185. Constitution of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopted in London on 16 Nov. 1945, 3 Bevans 1311.
186. The detailed drafting history is set out in the United Nations, supra note 78, Annex, at 484 ff.
187. See J. Morsink, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and Intent (2000).
188. J.P. Humphrey, Human Rights and the United Nations: A Great Adventure (1984), at 44.
189. Glendon, supra note 154, at 146.
190. Weisstub, 'Honor, Dignity, and the Framing of Multiculturalist Values', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 263.
191. E.g., during the drafting of the UDHR, the Netherlands delegate regretted that 'man's divine origins and immortal destiny had not been mentioned in the declaration, for the fount of all those rights was the Supreme Being, who laid a great responsibility on those who claimed them. To ignore that relation was almost the same as severing a plant from its roots, or building a house and forgetting the foundation': UN GA, Summary Records, at 874, quoted in S.R.S. Bedi, The Development of Human Rights Law by the Judges of the International Court of Justice (2007), at 52.
192. Human Rights: Comments and Interpretations: A Symposium edited by UNESCO (intro. J. Maritain, 1948), especially at 16.
193. On Maritain's role see Glendon, supra note 154.
194. Shultziner, supra note 50, at 5.
195. Sartre, 'Existentialism is a Humanism' (1946), in W. Kaufman, Existentialism: From Dostoevsky to Sartre (1975), at 345.
196. L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (trans. G.E.M. Anscombe, 2nd edn, 1958), at 32 (paras 66 and 67).
197. I am grateful to Gerald Neuman for this insight. See 'Human Dignity in United States Constitutional Law', in D. Simon and M. Weiss (eds), Zur Autonomie des Individuums: Liber Amicorum Spiros Simitis (2000), at 249, 249-250, from which the three elements are derived.
198. Ibid., at 250.
199. I am grateful to Jeremy Waldron for this insight. The distinction probably originates in Gallie, 'Essentially Contested Concepts', 56 Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (1956) 167.
200. Alexy, A Theory of Constitutional Rights (2nd edn, 2002), at 233, also distinguishes between 'a single concept and varying conceptions of human dignity' in his discussion of the use of human dignity in German constitutional law.
201. See, e.g., Schachter, 'Human Dignity as a Normative Concept', 77 Am Soc Int'l L (1983) 848, at 853.
202. Schultziner, supra note 50, round fn. 28.
203. This also has several modern philosophical exponents such as Joel Feinberg and James Grif. n, supra note 52.
204. So, Joel Feinberg, e.g., writes: '[r]espect for persons may simply be respect for their rights, so that there cannot be the one without the other; and what is called "human dignity" may simply be the recognizable capacity to assert claims. To respect a person then, or to think of him as possessed of human dignity simply is to think of him as a potential maker of claims': 'The Nature and Value of Rights' [1970] J Value Inquiry 243, at 252.
205. Klein, 'Human Dignity in German Law', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 145, 147.
206. Walter, 'Human Dignity in German Constitutional Law', in European Commission for Democracy through Law, supra note 14, at 27.
207. [2000] 5 Law Reports of the Commonwealth 147, 2000 (3) SA 936 (CC).
208. Ibid., at para. 35 (O'Regan J).
209. Ibid.
210. See, in general, Bedi, supra note 163.
211. Dissenting Opinion of Judge Tanaka in the South West Africa Case: '[i]n any case, as we have seen above, all human beings are equal before the law and have equal opportunities without regard to religion, race, language, sex, social groups, etc. As persons they have the dignity to be treated as such. This is the principle of equality which constitutes
212. Separate Opinion of Vice-President Ammoun (translation) in Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276, Advisory Opinion of 21 June 1971, [1971] ICJ Rep 16, at 77: '[i]t is not by mere chance that in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man there stands, so worded, this primordial principle or axiom: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." From this first principle flow most rights and freedoms. Of all human rights, the right to equality is far and away the most important. It is also the one which has been longest recognized as a natural right: It may even be said that the doctrine of natural law was born in ancient times with the concept of human equality as its first element. '
213. Dissenting Opinion of Judge de Castro in Application for Review of Judgment No. 158 of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal [1973] ICJ Rep 166, at 291.
214. Dissenting Opinion of Vice-President Ammoun (translation) in ibid. at 247.
215. Dissenting Opinion of Judge Shahabuddeen in Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, [1996] ICJ Rep 226, at 383 (quoting Max Huber, Acting President, ICRC).
216. Separate Opinion of Judge Weeramantry in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), Preliminary Objections [1996] ICJ Rep 595, at 641: '[o]ne of the principal concerns of the contemporary international legal system is the protection of the human rights and dignity of every individual'.
217. Declaration of Judge Ranjeva in Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium) [2002] ICJ Rep 3 at 55.
218. Separate opinion of Judge Elaraby in Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion [2005] ICJ Rep 136, at 255.
219. Declaration by Judge Koroma, Dissenting Opinion, Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda [2005] ICJ Rep, at paras 6 and 13.
220. East African Asians v. United Kingdom, 3 EHRR (1981) 76, at paras 203-207.
221. Tyrer v United Kingdom, 2 EHRR 1, at para. 33.
222. Bock v. Germany, 12 EHRR (1990) 247, at para. 48.
223. SW v. UK; CR v. UK, 21 EHRR (1995) 363, at para. 44.
224. Ribitsch v. Austria, 21 EHRR (1995) 573, at para. 38.
225. Goodwin v. United Kingdom, 35 EHRR (2002) 447, at paras 90-91.
226. Pretty v. United Kingdom, 24 EHRR (1997) 423, at para. 65: '[t]he very essence of the Convention is respect for human dignity and human freedom'.
227. Case C-168/91, Christos Konstantinidis [1993] ECR I-1191, at para. 39 of the AG's Opinion.
228. Case C-13/94, P v. S and Cornwall County Council [1996] ECR I-2143, at para. 22.
229. See also Maduro AG in Case C-303/06, Coleman v. Law, Judgment of 31 Jan. 2008, at paras 8-10, 12-13, 15, and 22.
230. Case C-36/02, Omega Spielhallen und Automatenaufstellungs-GmbH v. Oberbürgermeisterin der Bundesstadt Bonn [2004] ECR I-9609, at para 34.
231. See also Case C-377/98, Netherlands v. European Parliament and Council [2001] ECR I-7079.
232. See, e.g., Moon and Allen, 'Dignity Discourse in Discrimination Law: A Better Route to Equality', 6 European Human Rights L Rev (2006) 610, at 626, referring to the 'exponential growth in dignity discourse in the courts of England and Wales'.
233. For Murphy J's use of dignity see the immediate post-War cases In re Yamashita, 327 US 1, at 29 (1946) (dissent);
234. Homma v. Patterson, 327 US 759, at 760 (1946) (dissent);
235. Duncan v. Kahanamoku, 427 US 304, at 334 (1946) (concurrence).
236. For an example of Frankfurter J's use of dignity see American Federation of Labor v. American Sash and Door Co, 335 US 538, at 542 (1949).
237. See further H.N. Hirsch, The Enigma of Felix Frankfurter (1981);
238. St Antoine, 'Justice Frank Murphy and American Labor Law', 100 Michigan L Rev (2002) 1900.
239. Berger, 'Justice Brennan, "Human Dignity" and Constitutional Interpretation', in M.J. Meyer and W.A. Parent (eds), The Constitution of Rights: Human Dignity and American Values (1992), at 129.
240. Trop v. Dulles, 356 US 86, at 1000 (1958) ('[t]he basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man').
241. For a review of the use of dignity in the US Sup. Ct up to the early 1980s see Paust, 'Human Dignity as a Constitutional Right: A Jurisprudentially Based Inquiry into Criteria and Content', 27 Howard LJ (1984) 145.
242. Rochin v California, 342 US 165, at 174 (1952).
243. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey, 505 US 833 (1992).
244. See generally S.J. Heyman, Free Speech and Human Dignity (2008).
245. Lawrence v. Texas, 539 US 558, at 574 (2003) (Kennedy, J).
246. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 US 304 (2002).
247. Ullrich, 'Concurring Visions: Human Dignity in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany', 3(1) Global Jurist Frontiers 1.
248. Kretzmer, 'Human Dignity in Israeli Jurisprudence', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 161, 163-165.
249. Polish Constitutional Tribunal, judgment of 17 Mar. 1993, referred to by Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska, 'The Principle of Respect for Human Dignity', in European Commission for Democracy through Law, supra note 14, at 17.
250. Polish Constitution, 1997, supra note 140, Art. 30.
251. Conseil Constitutionnel, decision 94/343/344 DC, 27 July 1994, available at: www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/langues/anglais/ a94343dc.pdf.
252. Clapham, supra note 97, at 545-546.
253. 2 EHRR 25.
254. Opinion of Judge Fitzmaurice, ibid., at para. 27.
255. Opinion of Judge Evrigenis, ibid., at (a).
256. Opinion of Judge Evrigenis, ibid., at (i).
257. 23 EHRR (1999) 403.
258. Ibid., at para. 99.
259. 35 EHRR (2002) 1, at 33, para. 52.
260. Public Committee Against Torture in Israel v. State of Israel, HC 5100/94, HC 4054/95, HC 6536/95, HC 5188/96, HC 7563/97, HC 7628/97, HC 1043/99, at paras 18 ff (President Barak).
261. 408 US 238 (1972).
262. Ibid., at 270.
263. US 153 (1976).
264. Ibid., at 230.
265. Kindler v. Canada (Minister of Justice) [1991] 2 SCR 779.
266. Ibid., at 818 (Cory J, dissenting).
267. Ibid., at 833 (La Forest J).
268. Hungarian Constitutional Court, 24 Oct. 1990.
269. State v. Makwanyane and Mchunu, 1995 (6) BCLR 665 (CC).
270. Ibid., at para. 95.
271. Ibid., at para. 144.
272. Ibid.
273. Ibid., at para. 308.
274. US 747 (1986).
275. Ibid., at 772.
276. US 833 (1992).
277. Ibid., at 851 (internal citations omitted).
278. Ibid., at 915-916.
279. Decision 48/1998 (IX.23) AB, at para. 3(b).
280. Supra at notes 181 and 182.
281. Réaume, 'Discrimination and Dignity', 63 Louisiana L Rev (2003) 645.
282. Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Advisory Opinion OC-4/84 of 19 Jan. 1986 (Proposed Amendments to the Naturalization Provision of the Constitution of Costa Rica requested by the Government of Costa Rica, at paras 55-56.
283. Ibid.
284. Ibid.
285. Equality and non-discrimination law encompass a wide variety of different measures, of course. In the context of this discussion, I will confine myself to discussing the role that dignity plays in the context of what has been termed 'status equality', as it is in that context that the role of dignity is most prevalent.
286. EHRR (1973) 76, at 86, para. 207.
287. EHRR (2007) 16.
288. See Ehrenreich, 'Dignity and Discrimination: Toward a Pluralistic Understanding of Workplace Harassment', 88 Georgetown LJ (1999) 1.
289. Mendes, 'Taking Equality into the 21st Century: Establishing the Concept of Equal Human Dignity', 12(1) Nat'l J Constitutional L (2000) 3.
290. Huscroft, 'Discrimination, Dignity and the Limits of Equality', 9 Otago L Rev (2000) 697;
291. Chaskalson, 'Human Dignity as a Foundational Value of Our Constitutional Order', 16 South African J Human Rights (2000) 193;
292. Sachs, 'Equality Jurisprudence: The Origin of the Doctrine in the South African Constitutional Court', 5 Rev Constitutional Studies (1999) 76;
293. Grant, 'Dignity and Equality' [2007] Human Rights Law Review 299.
294. Law v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) [1999] 1 SCR 497, at para. 51.
295. Ibid., at 530.
296. Ibid., at para. 53.
297. (4) SA 1 (1997).
298. Ibid., at para. 41.
299. For discussions of the South African approach, in addition to Chaskalson, supra note 252,
300. and Sachs, supra note 252,
301. see Ackermann, 'Equality and the South African Constitution: The Role of Dignity', Bram Fischer Lecture, Oxford, May 2000.
302. For a comparison between the US and South Africa see Kende, 'Stereotypes in South African and American Constitutional Law: Achieving Gender Equality and Transformation', 10 S California Rev L and Women's Studies (2000) 3.
303. BHRC 127 (CC, 1998), 1998 (12) BCLR 1517 (CC).
304. Ibid., at paras 28 and 36.
305. (2003) 65 OR (3d) 161, CA for Ontario.
306. Ibid., at para. 5.
307. Ibid., at para. 107.
308. (3) BCLR 355 (Constitutional Court).
309. Ibid., at para. 78.
310. Aviation Security Act Case, BVerfG, 1 BvR 357/05 of 15 Feb. 2006 (Germany); Bundesverfassungsgericht, Press release No. 11/2006 of 15 Feb. 2006.
311. Public Committee against Torture in Israel v. Government of Israel HCJ 769/02 (Sup Ct Israel Sitting as the High Court of Justice), 11 Dec. 2005.
312. Ibid., at para. 25 (President (Emeritus) A. Barak).
313. Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case of the 'Street Children' (Villagran-Morales v. Guatemala, Judgment of Nov. 1999 (Merits), at para. 144.
314. Mullin v. The Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, AIR 1981 SCR (2) 516, at 518.
315. Decision 32/1998 (VI. 25) AB, ABH 1998, 251, at 254.
316. Decision 42/2000 (XI. 8) AB, Constitutional Court file number: 5/G/1998, published in the Official Gazette (Magyar Közlöny) MK 2000/109.
317. Ibid., at Sect. IV.
318. Ibid., at Sect. V(2).
319. Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v. Grootboom and Others, 2000 (10) BHRC 84 (CC).
320. Ibid., at para. 23.
321. Ibid.
322. Ibid., at para. 44.
323. Khosa v. Minister of Social Development, 2004 (6) SA 505 (CC).
324. Rail Commuters Action Group v. Transnet Ltd t/a Metrorail, 2005 (2) SA 359 (CC).
325. See further Davis, 'Socioeconomic Rights, The Promise and the Limitation: The South African Experience', in D. Barak-Erez and A.M. Gross, Exploring Social Rights: Between Theory and Practice (2007), at 192.
326. C Dupré, Importing the Law in Post-Communist Transitions: The Hungarian Constitutional Court and the Right to Human Dignity (2003);
327. Oz-Salzberger and Salzberger, 'The Secret German Sources of the Israeli Supreme Court', 3(2) Israel Studies (1998) 159.
328. Ghaidan v. Godin Mendoza [2004] 2 AC 557, at 604, para. 130 (Baroness Hale);
329. R v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, ex parte Carson [2005] UKHL 37, at para. 49 (Lord Walker).
330. E.g., Makwanyane, supra note 231.
331. S Ct 1183 (2005).
332. Kennedy J in ibid., at 1198.
333. Kennedy J in ibid.
334. Kennedy J in ibid., at 1199.
335. Kennedy J in ibid., at 1200 (emphasis added).
336. O'Connor J in ibid., at 1215.
337. O'Connor J in ibid., at 1215-1216.
338. O'Connor J in ibid., at 1216.
339. Carozza, 'My Friend is a Stranger: The Death Penalty and the Global Ius Commune of Human Rights', 81 Texas L Rev (2003) 1031, at 1081.
340. Ibid., at 1081-1082.
341. Compare Tushnet's discussion of what he terms 'normative universalism' in M. Tushnet, Weak Courts, Strong Rights (2008), at 5-6.
342. Teitel, 'Book Review: Comparative Constitutional Law in a Global Age', 117 Harvard L Rev (2004) 2570, at 2584-2585.
343. Ibid., at 2586.
344. C.R. Sunstein, Legal Reasoning and Political Conflict (1996).
345. Lord Hoffmann, 'Human Rights and the House of Lords', 62 MLR (1999) 159, at 165.
346. This has close similarities with what Tushnet terms 'expressivism': '[e]xpressivism takes constitutional ideas to be expressions of a particular nation's self-understanding': Tushnet, supra note 293, at 5.
347. D. Kommers, The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany (2nd edn, 1997), at 32.
348. Death Penalty Case, supra note 230.
349. Klein, supra note 174, at 149.
350. But see infra, text at notes 391-404.
351. Makwanyane, supra note 231, at para. 214: 'in the hierarchy of values and fundamental rights guaranteed [by the Interim Constitution], I see [human dignity, inter alia] as ranking below the right to life. Indeed, [it is] subsumed by that most basic of rights.'
352. Dupré, 'The Right to Human Dignity in Hungarian Constitutional Case-law', in European Commission for Democracy through Law, supra note 14, at 72;
353. C. Dupré, Importing the Law in Post-Communist Traditions: The Hungarian Constitutional Court and the Right to Human Dignity (2003), at 108, 111.
354. Kretzmer, supra note 210, at 169.
355. Kommers, supra note 299, at 307-308 (emphasis added).
356. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 122.
357. Ibid., at 123.
358. Ibid., at 125.
359. Contrast approaches in India and South Africa, where affirmative action is regarded as a major method of fulfilling dignity: Thakur v. Union of India[2007] RD-SC 609 (17 May 2007), at para. 174 (per Balakrishnan, CJ) (Sup Ct India);
360. Minister of Finance v. Van Heerden, 2004 (11) BCLR 1125, at para. 25.
361. Corder, supra note 28, at 117,
362. quoting Chaskalson, supra note 252, at 204.
363. Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska, supra note 211, at 21.
364. Walter, supra note 71, at 29.
365. Similarly in Belgium see Court of Arbitration, judgment No. 66/97 of 6 Nov. 1997, quoted in Delpérée, 'The Right to Human Dignity in Belgian Constitutional Law', in European Commission for Democracy through Law, supra note 14, at 57, 62.
366. Bognetti, supra note 28, at 75, 83.
367. See further 99 BverfGE 246. See also Starck, 'The Religious and Philosophical Background of Human Dignity and its Place in Modern Constitutions', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 179,189.
368. Bognetti, supra note 28, at 75, 85.
369. Dupré, 'The Right to Human Dignity', supra note 303, at 68, 69.
370. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 146-147.
371. HCJ 888, 366/03, Commitment to Peace and Social Justice Association v. Minister of Finance (decision of 12 Dec. 2005).
372. See further Barak-Erez and Gross, 'Social Citizenship: The Neglected Aspect of Israeli Constitutional Law', in Barak-Erez and Gross, supra note 279, at 242, especially 244-252.
373. Gosselin v. Quebec, 2002 SCC 84 (Sup Ct Canada).
374. Ibid., at para. 65.
375. Millns, 'Death, Dignity and Discrimination: The Case of Pretty v. United Kingdom', 3(10) German LJ (2002), available at: www.germanlawjournal.com, at para. 8.
376. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1678 UNTS 221, 27 ILM (1988) 668.
377. President George W. Bush in his 2005 speech to the UN spoke of how it was necessary, in the context of countering terrorism 'to raise up the failing states and stagnant societies that provide fertile ground for the terrorists. We must defend and extend a vision of human dignity, and opportunity, and prosperity ...'.
378. Station Film Co. v. Public Council for Film Censorship (1994) 50 PD (5) 661.
379. Kretzmer, supra note 210, at 169.
380. Ibid. Cp. US-Federal Republic of Germany Agreement on Cultural Property, 1986, sect. 130 prohibited 'assail[ing] the human dignity of others' 'in a manner likely to disturb the public peace' by, e.g., provoking hatred against sections of the population, or vilifying, maliciously disparaging, or defaming them.
381. 2005 SCC 80 (Sup Ct Canada).
382. Ibid., at para. 46.
383. 2004 (1) SA 406 (Const Ct S Africa).
384. Ibid., at para. 61.
385. Ibid., at para. 63.
386. Communication 550/1993, (1996) 2 BHRC, UN HR Committee.
387. Individual opinion by Prafullachandra Bhagwati.
388. [1990] 3 SCR 697 (Sup Ct Canada).
389. Ibid., at 746.
390. Ibid., at 812.
391. See also Taylor v. Canadian Human Rights Commission [1990] 3 SCR 892 (Sup Ct Canada, Dickson CJ).
392. Decision 30/1992 (V. 26.) AB, Constitutional Court file number: 1358/B/ 1991, published in the Official Gazette (Magyar Közlöny) MK 1992/53 (Hungarian Const Ct). See also Islamic Unity Convention v. Independent Broadcasting Authority, 2002 (5) BCLR 433 (Const Ct).
393. Mendes, supra note 251, at 3.
394. Gibbins, 'How in the World Can You Contest Equal Human Dignity?', 12 Nat'l J Const L (2000) 25.
395. Réaume, supra note 243, at 650.
396. Post, 'Prejudicial Appearances: The Logic of American Antidiscrimination Law', 88 California L Rev (2000) 1.
397. R. v Kapp, 2008 SCC 41, at paras 22-23 (McLachlin CJ and Abella J (Binnie, LeBel, Deschamps, Fish, Charron, and Rothstein JJ concurring).
398. Klein, supra note 175, at 148.
399. Ibid., at 157-159.
400. BverfGE 64, 274, at 279-280. Although Klein, supra note 175, at 158, notes that in a subsequent decision this approach was not adopted.
401. Conseil d'Etat, 27 Oct. 1995, req. Nos 136-720 (Commune de Morsang-sur-Orge), and 143-578 (Ville d'Aix-en-Provence).
402. Wackenheim v. France, CCPR/C/75/D/854/1999: France, 26 July 2002, at para. 7.4.
403. R. v. Butlert [1992] 1 SCR 452 (Sup Ct Canada).
404. Ibid., at 479 (emphasis added).
405. Jordan v. The State, 2002 (6) SA 642 (CC).
406. Ibid., at para. 74.
407. Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska, supra note 211, at 24.
408. 65 OR (3d) 161 (CA Ontario).
409. Ibid., at para. 79.
410. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 116.
411. Decision 2001-446 DC of 27 June 2001, at para. 2.
412. Ibid., at para. 5.
413. Shavit v. Rishon Lezion Jewish Burial Society, CA 6024/97 (Sup Ct Israel sitting as the Court of Appeals, 1 July 1999) referring to the 'human dignity of the deceased'. See further Kretzmer, supra note 210, at 168.
414. Mephisto case, BverfGE 30, 173;
415. Kommers, supra note 299, at 301.
416. Dupré, supra note 303, at 72;
417. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 112-113.
418. 96, Let the Animals Live v. Hamat Gader Spa Village Inc (1997). I am grateful to Tamar Feldman for providing a translation of the key parts of the judgment. According to reports in the scientific press, a 2004 Swiss law was interpreted to prevent particular experiments on animals on the ground that the experiments offended the dignity of the non-human primates involved: See Abbott, 'Swiss court bans work on macaque brains', 453 Nature (2008) 833.
419. Ibid., at para. 41 (emphasis added).
420. Ibid.
421. Walter, supra note 71, at 28.
422. Abortion Case, 39 BverfGE R 1 (1975);
423. D.P. Kommers, The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany (2nd edn, 1997). at 338.
424. This was confirmed in the Second Abortion decision: BverGE 88, 208 (1993).
425. S Ct 1610; 167 L Ed 2d 480 (2007) (US Sup Ct).
426. Ibid., at Part IV.A. of the decision.
427. EHRR (2007) 42, dissenting opinion of Judge Borrego Borrego, at para. 15.
428. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 116.
429. Decision 48/1998 (IX.23) AB, dissenting opinion by Dr Tamás Lábady, at para. 1.
430. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 116.
431. Ibid., at 117.
432. Omega, supra note 199, at paras 34-37.
433. For commentary on the case see M.K. Bulterman and H.R. Kranenborg, 'Case Comment', 31 European L Rev (2006) 93;
434. Ackermann, Comment, 42 CML Rev (2005) 1107.
435. See also Case C - 244/06, Dynamic Medien v. Avides Media, not yet reported.
436. I am grateful to Denise Réaume for this point.
437. R. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (2007), at chap. 4.
438. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303 (discussing Hungary);
439. Kamir, 'Honor and Dignity Cultures: The Case of Kavod (Honor) and Kvod Ha-adam (Dignity) in Israeli Society and Law', in Kretzmer and Klein, supra note 4, at 231 (discussing Israel);
440. Whitman, 'On Nazi "Honour" and the New European "Dignity"', in C. Joerges and N.S. Ghaleigh (eds), Darker Legacies of Law in Europe (2003), at 243 (discussing Germany).
441. Kamir, supra note 376.
442. Weisstub, supra note 162, at 274.
443. Carozza, supra note 291, at 1081-1082.
444. Feldman, 'Human Dignity as a Legal Value' [1999] Public Law 682, at 698.
445. Weisstub, supra note 162, at 265 (emphasis added).
446. My approach in this article, focussing on the judicial-institutional context of the interpretation of dignity, is close to what Tushnet terms 'contextualism': Tushnet, supra note 293, at 10, in this article, focussing on the judicial-institutional context of the interpretation of dignity.
447. I. Berlin, Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty (ed. H. Hardy, 2002).
448. Alder, 'The Sublime and the Beautiful: Incommensurability and Human Rights' [2006] Public Law 697.
449. Evans v. Amicus Healthcare Ltd [2004] EWCA Civ 727, at para. 66.
450. Ibid., at para. 110.
451. Evans v. United Kingdom, 43 EHRR (2007) 21.
452. A. v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56; [2005] 2 WLR 87 (HL).
453. Silver and Others v. UK, 5 EHRR (1993) 347, at para. 97.
454. Waldron, 'Fake Incommensurability', 45 Hastings LJ (1994) 813.
455. In addition to the cases discussed in the text see also R. (Carson) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2006] 1 AC 173 (HL). For a useful discussion see Baker, 'Comparison Tainted by Justification Against a "Compendious Question" in Art. 14 Discrimination' [2006] Public Law 476.
456. BverfGE 39, 1, quoting BverfGE 35, 202. The court emphasized the life interest as a community value rather than an individual right belonging to the foetus, although the court did recognize that '[t]he potential capabilities inherent in human existence from its inception are adequate to establish human dignity'.
457. Ibid.
458. BverfGE, 1 BvR 357/05.
459. See Möller, 'On Treating Persons as Ends: The German Aviation Security Act, Human Dignity, and the Federal Constitutional Court' [2006] Public Law 457.
460. Ibid., at 462.
461. BverfGE 88, 208, 2 BvF 2/90, 2BvF 4/92, 2 BvF 5/92 (1993), at 164.
462. It is not clear whether the FCC conceived that woman's dignity here is affiliated solely with the right to life or her right to personality, but the FCC appears to be associating dignity with both rights.
463. Port Elizabeth Municipality v. Various Occupiers, 2004 (12) BCLR 1268 (Const Ct S Africa).
464. Ibid., at para. 29.
465. Ibid., at para. 15.
466. R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 SCR 697 (Sup Ct Canada).
467. Ibid., at 764.
468. Ibid., at 765.
469. Paolo G Carozza, Subsidiarity as a Structural Principle of International Human Rights Law, 97 AJIL (2003) at 1.
470. Ibid.
471. (12) BCLR, at paras 9-10.
472. Gosselin v Quebec [2002] SCC 84 (Sup Ct Canada), at para. 24 (McLachlin CJ).
473. Ibid., at para. 24.
474. (3) BCLR 355 (Const Ct), at para. 152 (Sachs J).
475. Ibid., at para. 152.
476. Dupré, in European Commission for Democracy in Law, supra note 14, at 72.
477. Ibid., at sect. 1(B).
478. Dupré, Importing the Law, supra note 303, at 6.
479. Ibid., at 157.
480. Kretzmer, supra note 210, at 162.
481. Ibid., at 172.
482. Ibid.
483. Ibid.
484. Ibid.
485. R. v. Secretary of State for the Home Dept., ex parte Limbuela [2005] UKHL 66 (HL).
486. Ibid., at para. 76 (Baroness Hale).
487. Raz, 'The Rule of Law and its Virtue', 93 LQR (1997) 195.
488. See also Feldman, 'Human Dignity as a Legal Value-Part II', [2001] Public Law 61, at 75.
489. See, however, C. Gearty, Principles of Human Rights Adjudication (2004), at 88, where he adopts the view that the place where the appropriate conception of human dignity should be resolved 'is ideally the legislative assembly in which the representatives of the people meet to make rules for their society'.
490. For an interesting attempt to do so in comparing the judicial use of dignity in the US and Germany see E.J. Eberle, Dignity and Liberty: Constitutional Visions in Germany and the United States (2001).