DIGNITY, FOUNDING PRINCIPLE OF LAW

Abstract

The principle of dignity made a noted appearance in the legal field on the
occasion of the adoption of the first texts concerning bioethics. There is in fact
an obvious correlation between the need to provide a framework for certain
practices and the principle of human dignity. This recognition, which can be seen
in international and European law as much as in national law, is marked by
certain ambiguities as to its meaning and its impact. So this principle should be
subjected to a legal analysis. From this point of view, it presents three main
characteristics, it is a matrix principle, which cannot be waived and it constitutes
an objective right. Today, beyond its formal recognition, the effectiveness of the
principle of dignity is weakened by a tendency to give prevalence to the
requirement of freedom, as a subjective right. Beyond the ideological debate on
this issue, it is the protection of the individual that is at stake.
Key-words: Dignity, International law, Fundamental rights