Dignity is one of the founding values of the Constitution and permeates many aspects of the
Constitution. As we have seen, the value of dignity is used to interpret the equality
guarantees in section 9 of the Constitution. Dignity also permeates the interpretation of
other rights in the Bill of Rights, including social and economic rights.
However, dignity is not only one of the founding values of the Constitution, it is also an
independent, self-standing, enforceable right. Section 10 of the Constitution states that
everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected.
The right therefore implies an expectation to be protected from conditions or treatment
which offends the subject’s sense of his or her worth in society. In particular, treatment
which is abusive, degrading, humiliating or demeaning is a violation of this right. Moreover,
conduct which treats the subject as non-human or less than human or as an object is
intolerable and contrary to section 10 of the Constitution.
At the heart of the right to dignity is the assumption that each human being has incalculable
human worth, regardless of circumstances, and should be treated accordingly. This idea or
value is ‘at the inner heartland of our rights culture’. Dignity can be viewed narrowly as a
personal right associated with a person’s identity, autonomy and moral agency. According to
Sachs J, the right to dignity necessarily entails that everyone has the same moral worth as
dignity entails an acknowledgement of ‘the intrinsic worth of human beings’ and the
recognition that ‘human beings are entitled to be treated as worthy of respect and concern’.
Moreover, human dignity demands that people be treated as unique individuals rather than
as representatives of a group.
South African courts have developed a comprehensive meaning of the right to human
dignity. In light of the fact that the Constitution permits reference to foreign law to interpret
the right in the Bill of Rights, our courts have invoked the jurisprudence of foreign
jurisdictions to clarify the meaning of the concept of human dignity. Specifically, former
Chief Justice Chaskalson referred to the case of Law v Canada (Minister of Employment
and Immigration) in his academic paper concerning the meaning of the right to human
dignity. In the Law v Canada case, the Canadian Supreme Court explained human dignity as
follows:
Human dignity means that an individual or group feels self-respect and self-worth. It is
concerned with physical and psychological integrity and empowerment. Human dignity is
harmed by unfair treatment premised upon personal traits or circumstances which do not
relate to individual needs, capacities, or merits. It is enhanced by laws which are sensitive to
the needs, capacities and merits of different individuals, taking into account the context of
their differences. Human dignity is harmed when individuals and groups are marginalised,
ignored, or devalued, and is enhanced when laws recognise the
full place of all individuals and groups within society.
However, dignity can be viewed as including more than the individualised personal well-
being of the bearers of rights. Understood more broadly, dignity aims to create the
opportunity for every individual to reach his or her full potential and to experience complete
freedom. In terms of this more encompassing view, ‘dignity, properly understood, secures
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