The role of human dignity in gay rights adjudication and legislation: A comparative perspective

Abstract

The concept of human dignity is encountered with increased frequency in the context of gay rights and in particular marriage equality. Throughout legal orders, human dignity has emerged as a justificatory tool for bringing about gay rights-either through adjudication or legislation-and this in the absence of a fixed content of dignity in juridical application in most domestic legal orders. I attempt to understand this intriguing phenomenon by examining it in comparative perspective.