Part II Ideas, Ch.18 Human Dignity and Autonomy in Modern Constitutional Orders

The concept of human dignity is as difficult and loaded with substantial problems as it is central for the contemporary architecture of human rights. The latter role is evident: human dignity forms a foundational concept for the international legal order of human rights.1 Many national legal orders incorporate it explicitly, in the post-war era often following the example set by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.2 Supranational international organizations like the European Union have recently done the same3 as have regional systems for the protection of...