Human Dignity as a Principle of Interpretation of European Union Law

Abstract

Referred to by legal scholars as the “mother right”, human dignity is enshrined in European Union law as a fundamental value (Article 2 of the TEU), as a fundamental right (Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU) or as the “real basis of fundamental rights” (Explanations to the Charter), as well as a "general principle of law" (Omega case). From a positivist-normative perspective – one that permeates contemporary judicial practice – we believe, however, that human dignity should be valued as a “principle of interpretation”, reflecting its inexhaustible hermeneutic potential, which judges can routinely employ in the rendering of justice. In this way, the Court would simply be placing human beings at the centre of all EU activities.