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Human dignity is one of the most challenging and exciting ideas for lawyers and political philosophers in the twenty-first century. Even though it is rapidly emerging as a core concept across legal systems, and is the first foundational value of the European Union and its overarching human rights commitment under the Lisbon Treaty, human dignity is still little understood and often mistrusted. Based on extensive comparative and cross-disciplinary research, this path-breaking monograph provides an innovative and critical investigation of human dignity''s origins, development and above all its potential at the heart of European constitutionalism today. Grounding its analysis in the connections among human dignity, human rights, constitutional law and democracy, this book argues that human dignity''s varied and increasing uses point to a deep transformation of European constitutionalism. At its heart are the construction and protection of constitutional time, and the multi-dimensional definition of humanity as human beings, citizens and workers. Anchored in a detailed comparative study of case law, including the two European supranational courts and domestic constitutional courts, especially those of Germany, the UK, France and Hungary, this monograph argues for a new understanding of European constitutionalism as a form of humanism.>
List of contents
1. Introduction
I. The Rise of Dignity
II. Positioning Human Dignity at the Heart of European Constitutionalism
III. Human Dignity as a Constitutional Concept
IV. The Age of Dignity
2. We are Not Born in Dignity
I. Introduction
II. Human Dignity as Ideal
III. 1789: From Dignities to Dignity
IV. Dignity as Humanity
V. Conclusion
3. The Foundations of European Constitutionalism: 1949, 1989, 2009
I. Introduction
II. Making Sense of the Past
III. Human Dignity as Constitutional Foundation
IV. Normative Definition of Human Dignity
V. Conclusion
4. Human Dignity: A Judge-Made Concept
I. Introduction
II. Endorsing and Re-Activating the Foundational Promise
III. Making Human Dignity European
IV. The Essence of European Constitutionalism
V. Conclusion
5. Hidden in Plain View: Workers' Human Dignity
I. Introduction
II. Workers are Human Beings
III. Constructing Workers' Dignity: The EU Charter as a Basis
IV. Workers' Dignity and Democracy
V. Conclusion
6. Defining Dignity, Protecting Human Time
I. Introduction
II. Constitutional Time Overflows
III. Human Dignity as Human Time
IV. Protecting Human Time
V. Conclusion
7. Re-Thinking European Constitutionalism: Dignity, Humanism, Democracy
I. Introduction
II. Constitutionalism as Humanism
III. Dignity-Democracy
IV. Conclusion
8. Conclusion
About the author
Catherine Dupré is the author of Importing the Law in Post-Communist Transitions: The Hungarian Constitutional Court and the Right to Human Dignity (Hart Publishing, 2003) and an Associate Professor in Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Exeter.
