Cambridge Legal Theory Discussion Group: 'Dignity in Constitutional Law: A Way Forward'

This term’s second session of the CLTDG will be chaired by María S. Pardo Vergara, who will be presenting her paper 'Dignity in Constitutional Law: A Way Forward'. Please note that sessions are pre-read.

Abstract

The paper suggests a methodological alternative to pin down the constitutional concept of human dignity. Firstly, drawing on a sample of decisions from German, Canadian and South African jurisdictions, I argue that human dignity should not be examined as a single concept, but rather, as a notion with which diverse cores of meaning are associated.

Second, I briefly describe the constitutional literature on the subject, suggesting that it has not actually dealt with the identification of these nuclei of meaning. Then, I argue that task of pinpointing dignity can benefit from resorting to philosophical works: a suitable way forward would be to propose an account of these various meanings. Thus, an inventory is sketched. Nevertheless, this inventory is only a first step, which will give us an idea of what the alternatives are. Finally, it will be argued that the suitability of these alternatives should not be measured in philosophical terms, but in proper constitutional terms.