The legal meaning of human dignity: respect for autonomy and concern for vulnerability

Human dignity is the supreme principle that defines the ultimate limits and frontiers of the whole system of basic rights. We must therefore identify its legal meaning, range and specific content. Duties to oneself and self-harm are beyond the limits of law. Legally speaking, only otherness, only one’s relationship to others, is relevant. The legal principle of human dignity demands that the humanity in each person should be treated by other people and by the state as an end in itself. This primarily means respecting people’s autonomy, freedom of choice and personality. However, it also implies understanding the phenomenic reality of the human being as an embodied and vulnerable creature. People’s capabilities must be developed within certain favourable social conditions: some people are especially fragile and therefore need special care from others and/or protection provided by the state and the law; moreover, people’s bodies, life and health are vulnerable and technology increases natural risks and dangers. Limit situations in biolaw, such as euthanasia and so-called designer babies, should be discussed in the light of an integral conception of humanity. In fact, treating the humanity in each person as an end in itself implies respecting their autonomy and personality, but also demands that we take human vulnerability into consideration. This conception is essential to defining the boundaries of law.