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Article Absoluteness of the Right to Human Dignity (Position of the Federal Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany)
Authors VIKTOR SHYSHKIN
Name of magazine Legal journal «Law of Ukraine» (Ukrainian version)
Issue 9 / 2018
Pages 57 - 75
Annotation

Unfortunately, in Ukraine human dignity as a legal category envisaged by Article 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine has not been analyzed and interpreted by the constitutional jurisdiction body which is the only one which should have done this in detail and in a multidimensional manner over more than two decades of its existence, given the constitutional and legal nature of its status, this being an interpreter of the Fundamental Law of our State. This entails a legal vacuum in the entire national theory of human rights, since the right to human dignity, as well as the right to life is determinant to other fundamental human rights. In this context, a study of theoretical achievements by similar institutions of the European countries with regard to human dignity is becoming relevant. The contents of the article aim at highlighting only one of many but dominating aspect present in the doctrinal positions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany which concerns the absoluteness of the principle entrenched in Part 1, Article 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (the Constitution of Germany) – human dignity is inviolable. As part of this task, the author attempts at demonstrating the path which the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (the FCC) has already passed, with its legal conceptual vision and presentation remaining constant. The FCC has laid the major scope of doctrinal provisions regarding the features of a human being and the value of a particular personality as long ago as at the beginning of its operation, for the most part developing them subsequently, with due regard for social challenges and needs of a certain historical period. The purpose of the article is to show the theoretical approaches and the “deployment” of the ascending and fundamental essence of Part 1, Article 1 of the Constitution of Germany for other fundamental rights entrenched therein. Theoretical interpretations provided in the FCC decisions which are based on philosophical views on the “image” of a human being have already become the core not only of the constitutional doctrine in Germany, but also of the system of legal education of future lawyers. Accordingly, they are worthy of scientific and practical attention for the sake of a further development of Ukrainian constitutionalism in general and especially Ukrainian constitutional jurisdiction in particular.

 

Keywords dignity of a human being; inviolability of human dignity; human dignity; dignity of mankind; constitutive and fundamental nature and ascending and functional significance of the constitutional provisions on human dignity; obligations of State power
References
List of legal documents
Cases
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2. BVerfGE 1, 332 (333, 343, 347, 348) (in German).
3. BVerfGE 4, 7 (15 f.) (in German).
4. BVerfGE 5, 85 (204. f.) (in German).
5. BVerfGE 6, 7 (9) (in German).
6. BVerfGE 6, 32 (36, 41) (in German).
7. BVerfGE 7, 198 (205) (in German).
8. BVerfGE 9, 89 (95) (in German).
9. BVerfGE 12, 45 (53) (in German).
10. BVerfGE 12, 113 (123) (in German).
11. BVerfGE 13, 132 (152) (in German).
12. BVerfGE 15, 249 (255 f.) (in German).
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14. BVerfGE 16, 191 (194) (in German).
15. BVerfGE 20, 31 (32) (in German).
16. BVerfGE 21, 362 (369, 372) (in German).
17. BVerfGE 22, 21 (28) (in German).
18. BVerfGE 24, 119 (144) (in German).
19. BVerfGE 25, 269 (285) (in German).
20. BVerfGE 27, 1 (5, 6) (in German).
21. BVerfGE 27, 344 (351) (in German).
22. BVerfGE 28, 151 (159, 163) (in German).
23. BVerfGE 28, 243 (243 f., 254 ff, 263, 264) (in German).
24. BVerfGE 30, 1 (39) (in German).
25. BVerfGE 30, 173 (193, 194, 313) (in German).
26. BVerfGE 32, 98 (106, 108) (in German).
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28. BVerfGE 33, 23 (29) (in German).
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30. BVerfGE 34, 238 (245) (in German).
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32. BVerfGE 35, 366 (376) (in German).
33. BVerfGE 36, 174 (188) (in German).
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36. BVerfGE 39, 334 (349) (in German).
37. BVerfGE 40,121 (133) (in German).
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39. BVerfGE 46, 160 (164) (in German).
40. BVerfGE 48, 127 (163) (in German).
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42. BVerfGE 49, 24 (53, 64) (in German).
43. BVerfGE 49, 89 (142) (in German)
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45. BVerfGE 50, 125 (133) (in German).
46. BVerfGE 50, 166 (170, 175) (in German)
47. BVerfGE 50, 205 (214, 215) (in German).
48. BVerfGE 50, 256 (262) (in German).
49. BVerfGE 50, 290 (338) (in German).
50. BVerfGE 51, 43 (58) (in German).
51. BVerfGE 52, 223 (247) (in German).
52. BVerfGE 52, 256 (261) (in German).
53. BVerfGE 54, 148 (153) (in German).
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55. BVerfGE 55, 144 (150) (in German).
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57. BVerfGE 56, 216 (235) (in German).
58. BVerfGE 56, 363 (373, 393) (in German).
59. BVerfGE 57, 250 (250, 284 f.) (in German).
60. BVerfGE 57, 361 (382) (in German).
61. BVerfGE 58, 208 (225) (in German).
62. BVerfGE 59, 125 (133) (in German).
63. BVerfGE 59, 128 (163) (in German).
64. BVerfGE 61, 18 (27) (in German).
65. BVerfGE 61, 126 (137 f.) (in German).
66. BVerfGE 64, 261 (272, 281, 284) (in German).
67. BVerfGE 69, 1 (22) (in German).
68. BVerfGE 72, 105 (115 ff.) (in German).
69. BVerfGE 72, 155 (170, 172) (in German).
70. BVerfGE 74, 102 (124 f.) (in German).
71. BVerfGE 75, 348 (360) (in German).
72. BVerfGE 75, 369 (380) (in German).
73. BVerfGE 79, 51 (63) (in German).
74. BVerfGE 79, 256 (268) (in German).
75. BVerfGE 80, 109 (121) (in German).
76. BVerfGE 80, 244 (255) (in German).
77. BVerfGE 80, 367 (379) (in German).
78. BVerfGE 82, 60 (80, 85, 87) (in German).
79. BVerfGE 84, 133 (158) (in German).
80. BVerfGE 85, 360 (385 f.) (in German).
81. BVerfGE 86, 288 (312, 313) (in German).
82. BVerfGE 87, 209 (228) (in German).
83. BVerfGE 88, 203 (251 f.) (in German).
84. BVerfGE 89, 346 (353) (in German).
85. BVerfGE 91, 93 (111) (in German).
86. BVerfGE 93, 266 (293) (in German).
87. BVerfGE 95, 96 (140) (in German).
88. BVerfGE 95, 220 (241, 242) (in German).
89. BVerfGE 96, 245 (249) (in German).
90. BVerfGE 96, 375 (398, 399, 400) (in German).
91. BVerfGE 102, 347 (367) (in German).
92. BVerfGE 102, 370 (389) (in German).
93. BVerfGE 107, 275 (284) (in German).
94. BVerfGE 109, 133 (134, 149 ff., 156 ff., 167 ff., 180 ff., 187 ff.) (in German).
95. BVerfGE 109, 279 (311, 313, 314, 319, 320, 330) (in German).
96. BVerfGE 110, 1 (13) (in German).
97. BVerfGE 113, 154 (164) (in German).
98. BVerfGE 115, 118 (152 ff., 157 ff., 164) (in German).
99. BVerfGE 115, 320 (358 f.) (in German).
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109. BVerfGK 5, 237 (243) (in German).
110. BVerfGK 7, 120 (122 f) (in German).
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