Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory
- The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Frontispiece
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- 1Introduction
- Part IValues
- 2Human Dignity
- 3Rights
- 4Equality
- 5Liberty
- 6Well-Being
- 7Self-Government
- 8Justice
- 9Recognition
- Part IIModalities
- Part IIIInstitutions
- Part IVChallenges for Constitutional Democracy
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
2 - Human Dignity
from Part I - Values
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 March 2025
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory
- The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Contributors
- Frontispiece
- Preface and Acknowledgements
- 1Introduction
- Part IValues
- 2Human Dignity
- 3Rights
- 4Equality
- 5Liberty
- 6Well-Being
- 7Self-Government
- 8Justice
- 9Recognition
- Part IIModalities
- Part IIIInstitutions
- Part IVChallenges for Constitutional Democracy
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
How much of a role can human dignity play in constitutional law? It can certainly serve as a foundation of some or all of the rights that a constitution comprises, and it may also figure in the specific content of some of these rights. It may do this explicitly or implicitly – implicitly (as in the US Constitution) when dignity’s role is brought out in legal argument rather than the explicit text. Most rights that protect freedom implicate dignity, but so also do social and economic rights in the constitutions that have them. More generally human dignity may serve as a constitutional value, guiding the interpretation of other provisions: it does this, for example, explicitly in the Constitution of South Africa. It may also underpin the constitutional protection of democracy and the franchise, the rule of law, structures of accountability, the importance of citizenship, and the overall orientation of the provisions of the constitution towards respect for the ordinary people of the country that it governs.
Keywords
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- The Cambridge Handbook of Constitutional Theory , pp. 23 - 37Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Recommended Reading
Barak, A. (2015). Human Dignity: The Constitutional Value and the Constitutional Right, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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Habermas, J. (2010). The Concept of Human Dignity and the Realistic Utopia of Human Rights. Metaphilosophy, 41(4), 464–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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McCrudden, C. (2008). Human Dignity in Human Rights Interpretation. European Journal of International Law, 19(4), 655–724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neuman, G. (2000). Human Dignity in United States Constitutional Law. In Simon, D. and Weiss, M., eds., Zur Autonomie des Individuums: Liber Amicorum Spiros Simitis. Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, pp. 249–71.Google Scholar
Rao, N. (2008). On the Use and Abuse of Dignity in Constitutional Law. Columbia Journal of European Law, 14(2), 201–55.Google Scholar
Rosen, M. (2012). Dignity: its History and Meaning, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldron, J. (2012a). Dignity, Rank and Rights, New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldron, J. (2012b). How Law Protects Dignity, Cambridge Law Journal, 71(1), 200–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waldron, J. (2013). Citizenship and Dignity. In McCrudden, C. ed., Understanding Human Dignity. London: The British Academy, pp. 327–43.Google Scholar
Waldron, J. (2015). Is Dignity the Foundation of Human Rights? In Liao, M, Renzo, M., & Cruft, R., eds., The Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 117–37.Google Scholar
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