Human Dignity: Principle and End of Law and Social Order

Abstract

This paper analyzes and seeks to demonstrate that human dignity must be the foundation and raison d’être of law. Although the post-war period led the world, primarily the Western world, to shift its focus toward the human being not only in legal terms but also politically, socially, and economically this perspective has aimed to develop, guarantee, and construct human rights, from the so called first generation rights to what we now know as emerging rights. However, no right that can be recognized and guaranteed for people would make sense if we do not profoundly regard and acknowledge dignity, which, more than a right, is an intrinsic condition of every human person simply by existing. Thus, human dignity permeates all other rights, being therefore the principle, end, and foundation not only of law but also of all political, economic, and social orders. This work essentially develops what Professor Alfonso Santiago has described as “the principle of the equal and inviolable dignity of the human person” (Santiago, 2022), to serve as a guiding beacon for the coexistence and development of nations.