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An International Legal Perspective on Human Dignity: The Extrinsic Recognition of an Intrinsic Condition
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 November 2022
Abstract
Human dignity plays an important role in the international legal order, and references to the principle can be found in various international human rights instruments. Its meaning, however, remains an object of avid discussion due to the impossibility of finding a precise and timeless way of defining the concept. In this article, we argue that acknowledging inherence as an element of human dignity gives extrinsic legal recognition to an intrinsic human condition and tends to expand human dignity’s influence. Vagueness — or openness — in defining the concept provides for a dynamic and evolutionary understanding of human dignity, and, coupled with the idea of inherence, these characteristics represent tools for universalization and adaptation of the concept to new circumstances. These findings are based on a review of philosophical discussions of the idea of human dignity, followed by an analysis of how it is addressed in international legal instruments and international jurisprudence and identification of its recurrent elements. We defend the view that the vagueness of its definition does not mean that its content is impossible to identify in particular circumstances. Scholars and institutions can have a concrete sense of the meaning of human dignity even though its substance may admit new elements as new social demands emerge. In our view, the essential meaning of human dignity is founded on the influence of the whole body of human rights as well as on its particular connection to the rights of social minorities, in which human dignity is emphasized because of the material precariousness of such groups under social systems that subject them to discriminatory treatment.
Résumé
La dignité humaine joue un rôle important dans l’ordre juridique international et des renvois à ce principe se trouvent dans divers instruments internationaux relatifs aux droits de la personne. Sa portée reste cependant un objet de vives discussions en raison de l’impossibilité de trouver une définition précise et intemporelle du concept. Dans cet article, nous soutenons que la reconnaissance de l’inhérence comme élément de la dignité humaine permet une reconnaissance juridique extrinsèque d’une condition humaine intrinsèque et tend à étendre son influence. L’imprécision — ou l’ouverture — de sa définition permet une appréciation dynamique et évolutive de la dignité humaine et, associées à l’idée d’inhérence, ces caractéristiques représentent des outils d’universalisation et d’adaptation du concept à de nouvelles circonstances. Ces conclusions sont basées sur un examen des origines philosophiques de l’idée de la dignité humaine, suivi d’une analyse de la manière dont elle est abordée dans les instruments juridiques internationaux et la jurisprudence internationale, et de l’identification de ses éléments récurrents. Nous défendons l’idée que l’imprécision de sa définition ne signifie pas qu’il est impossible de cerner son contenu dans des circonstances particulières. Les spécialistes et les institutions peuvent avoir un sens concret de la signification de la dignité humaine même si sa substance peut admettre de nouveaux éléments à mesure que de nouvelles exigences sociales émergent. Pour les auteurs, le sens essentiel de la dignité humaine est fondé sur l’influence de l’ensemble des droits de la personne, ainsi que sur son lien particulier avec les droits des minorités, dans lesquels la dignité humaine est soulignée en raison de la précarité matérielle de ces groupes en vertu de systèmes sociaux qui les soumettent à un traitement discriminatoire.
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- Information
- Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international , Volume 59 , November 2022 , pp. 313 - 340
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- © The Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international 2022
References
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40 UN Charter, supra note 2, preamble.
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42 EU Charter, supra note 4, preamble, ch 1.
43 ICCPR, supra note 5, preamble, art 10.
44 ICESCR, supra note 6, arts 11, 13.
45 Convention on Racial Discrimination, supra note 7, preamble.
46 Convention on Discrimination against Women, supra note 8, preamble.
47 Convention on Persons with Disabilities, supra note 9, preamble, arts 1, 3, 8, 16(4), 24–25.
48 Convention on Torture, supra note 10, preamble.
49 Convention on Migrants, supra note 11, arts 17, 70.
50 UDHR, supra note 1, preamble (“[w]hereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”).
51 Ibid, art 1 (“[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”).
52 UN Charter, supra note 2, preamble (“to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”).
53 ICCPR, supra note 5, preamble (“[c]onsidering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world[; r]ecognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person”).
54 Convention on Racial Discrimination, supra note 7, preamble (“[c]onsidering that the Charter of the United Nations is based on the principles of the dignity and equality inherent in all human beings. … Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein, without distinction of any kind, in particular as to race, colour or national origin”).
55 Convention on Discrimination against Women, supra note 8, preamble (“[n]oting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women”).
56 Convention on Persons with Disabilities, supra note 9, preamble (“[r]ecalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world”).
57 Convention on Torture, supra note 10, preamble (“[c]onsidering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world[; r]ecognizing that those rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person”).
58 Roberto Andorno raises different cultural traditions in which human dignity finds resonance — from the Christian approach in which human dignity derives from human creation by God in his image to the Kantian position whereby human dignity is founded on the human capacity to conceive. Andorno points out that, although the concept of human dignity is often attributed to Western thought, it is also expressed in the teachings of Confucianism — as a result of the human capacity to be oriented by a sense of justice — and Islamic traditions — justified in the belief that God has endowed human beings with the best shape, intellect, freedom, and dignity. Andorno, Roberto, “Human Dignity and Human Rights” in ten Have, Henk & Gordijn, Bert, eds, Handbook of Global Bioethics (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014) 45 at 46–49 Google Scholar.
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61 Ibid, art 11(1) (“[e]veryone has the right to have his honor respected and his dignity recognized”).
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68 In this sense, McCrudden points out that human dignity was first addressed by the European Commission of Human Rights in the East African Asians case, regarding racial discrimination as an infringement of human dignity: East African Asians v United Kingdom (1973), 3 EHRR 76 at paras 189, 207–08 (Eur Comm’n HR). In turn, according to McCrudden, the first reference to the principle was made by the European Court of Human Rights in Tyrer v United Kingdom (1978), No 5856/72, [1978] ECHR 2, 2 EHRR 1, in relation to the imposition of corporal punishment in a judicial sentence. McCrudden, supra note 31 at 683. Since then, the court has invoked human dignity in several cases, most recently in finding that a failure to provide proper medical treatment to a detainee violated the human dignity of the person. Kikolishen v Ucrania, No 65544/11 (15 April 2021).
69 Kuna Indigenous People of Madungandí and Emberá Indigenous People of Bayano and Their Members (Panama) (2014), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 284.
70 Ibid at para 194.
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75 Flor Freire v Ecuador (2016), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 315 at para 109.
76 Ibid.
77 Ximenes Lopes v Brazil (2006), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 149.
78 “The right to life is a fundamental human right, and the exercise of this right is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. If it is not respected, all rights lack meaning. Owing to the fundamental nature of the right to life, restrictive approaches to it are inadmissible. In essence, the fundamental right to life includes, not only the right of every human being not to be deprived of his life arbitrarily, but also the right that he will not be prevented from having access to the conditions that guarantee a dignified existence. States have the obligation to guarantee the creation of the conditions required in order that violations of this basic right do not occur and, in particular, the duty to prevent its agents from violating it.” Case of the “Street Children” (Villagrán Morales et al) v Guatemala (1999), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 77 at para 144.
79 Case of the Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2006), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 142 at para 161; Case of the Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2006), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 146; Case of the Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2010), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 214 at paras 194–217.
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