Dignity Rights for a Pandemic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12885969 |
|---|---|
| Authors | James R May (0000-0003-4202-1670, Widener University), Erin Daly (0000-0003-1461-7004, Widener University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 21-40 |
| Publication date | 2020-10-08 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law Culture and the Humanities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1743-8721 • E-ISSN: 1743-9752 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1743872120944515 |
| OpenAlex | W3092283993 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
The concept of human dignity means, quite simply, that every person has inherent equal worth. This incontrovertible but profound concept is derived from the body of dignity law that has developed since the end of World War II at the international, regional, national, and subnational levels, where dignity has become the central axis around which law rotates. Both the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights confirm the foundational place of the recognition of human dignity in the building of the new postwar world order. Advancing human dignity also is a central premise of the binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and virtually all subsequent instruments addressing human well-being. The right to dignity is guaranteed by the national constitutions of more than 160 countries. Further, courts around the globe have applied the right to dignity thousands of times in cases involving issues that matter everyday to everyday people, including involving poverty, employment, marriage, adoption, incarceration, education, safety, health, discrimination, immigration, and police brutality, and many more. The pandemic wrought by Covid-19 has tested the boundaries of dignity’s role under the of law. Millions are infected. Hundreds of thousands have died. Nations have closed their borders. People are quarantined, desparate, and desparing, leading to social and economic dislocation not seen since the Great Depression. This article highlights the normative and legal dimensions of dignity, and how taking account of dignity under law can improve outcomes during the pandemic. It theorizes that, while not a cure, recognizing dignity under law can be therapeutic in these troubling times
Cultural rights · Dignity · Fundamental rights · Human rights · International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights · Political science · Politics · Right to property · Sociology · Law · Patient Dignity and Privacy
| Citations per year | 0.8 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |