Human Dignity in Germany

Abstract

The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany acknowledges, in its first provision, the dignity of man and thereby the inalienable intrinsic value of every human being. Originally, this provision was meant to serve as a kind of preamble of the section on fundamental rights of the Basic Law and as a structure-giving guiding principle of its constitutional order ("right to rights"). According to the prevailing view today, however, this provision of Art. 1.1 of the Basic Law is understood as a legal "guarantee" of human dignity: a directly applicable constitutive principle and even a directly binding subjective fundamental right of the individual, which may be enforced in courts. Yet this German concept of human dignity, which is meant to guarantee the effective realization of "good order", diverges from the European legal system, and it is doubtful whether the German concept will survive the process of European integration.