Abstract

In this chapter, the author identifies the place of human dignity in the laws of the Republic of Serbia by analysing its constitutional and legislative guarantees as well as appropriate judicial practice. The Constitution from 2006 gives human dignity a distinguished status in the Serbian legal system: it is recognized as the purpose of protecting human and minority rights as well as being an important legal principle and human right. As a human right, it is determined to be untouchable and directly linked to the guarantee of freedom of personal development. The Constitution envisages other important areas of protection of human dignity being further developed in different sets of laws. In this analysis, the author identifies a general framework of what human dignity means in the legal system and points out the advantages and the problems of some directions of its interpretation. Additionally, some difficulties arising from the vagueness of the concept are emphasized. Furthermore, important decisions of the Constitutional Court are presented, their theoretical underpinnings and some underlying questions delineated, and the use of dignity protection in the practice of other courts are classified and discussed.