Uma análise da dignidade da pessoa humana

: no contexto da proteção multinível dos direitos fundamentais na Europa

Abstract

In the monarchical constitutionalism and the first decades of the republican constitutionalism, the protection of fundamental rights in Portugal was only ensured at the national level, within the scope of our constitutional system. Nowadays, however, that is no longer the case. Our country is part of a European system in which the protection of fundamental rights occurs simultaneously at three levels: nationally, supranationally, and internationally. Thus, we can say that what currently exists is the so-called multilevel protection of fundamental rights. At the national level, fundamental rights are enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, and they can be judicially enforced through recourse to ordinary courts and, indirectly, to the Constitutional Court. At the supranational level, they are enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. When they are infringed, they can be enforced by national courts and by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is commonly known as the Court of Luxembourg. At the international level, fundamental rights are enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, and they are judicially enforced by the European Court of Human Rights, commonly known as the Court of Strasbourg. The transition, in Europe, from a system of national protection of fundamental rights - in which Portugal was absolutely sovereign - to a system of multilevel protection of fundamental rights - in which there is a sharing of competences between the State and supranational and international organizations of which it is part of - entails a significant shift of paradigm, which has been forcing the scientific community to seriously rethink about fundamental rights. Why? Because the existence of several levels of protection of fundamental rights can eventually lead to the existence of structural inconsistencies. These possible disharmonies must be identified and combated, so that we may achieve a truly effective European system for the protection of fundamental rights. In our view, the principle of human dignity constitutes the basis from which fundamental rights derive. It is the source from which they spring. Therefore, what we intend with this dissertation is to analyse the principle of human dignity, in the context of the mentioned multilevel protection of fundamental rights, and to verify whether or not it is addressed in a cohesive way at the different levels of protection of fundamental rights. In short, the scientific question to which we will try to provide an answer is the following: is there any congruence in the way in which the principle of human dignity is taken, at the different levels - nationally, supranationally, and internationally -, in the context of the multilevel protection of fundamental rights in Europe?

Date of Award	14 Mar 2024
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Catarina Santos Botelho (Supervisor)