Every day, lawyers and judges are reshaping the law to protect essential dignity rights. These cases ensure that all people
— have agency over their lives,
— can live with dignity, and
— are treated with dignity by others.
The American Bar Association has resolved that
“human dignity — the inherent, equal, and inalienable worth of every person — is foundational to a just rule of law;” and
“urges governments to ensure that ‘dignity rights’ – the principle that human dignity is fundamental to all areas of law and policy — be reflected in the exercise of their legislative, executive, and judicial functions.”
This Resolution was adopted unanimously by the ABA House of Delegates in 2019. Pursuant to the Resolution, the ABA Center for Human Rights established a Dignity Rights Initiative which now houses many dignity rights resources.
Legal Resources
Case Library
We maintain a free, fully searchable, open access database to the growing body of dignity law worldwide. We provide links to the original cases, keywords, and an abstract for each case focusing on the development of dignity law.
Dignity in International Law
Isn’t it time for international law to protect people’s rights to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment? Here is a draft of an International Covenant on Environmental Rights, produced by the International Center for Comparative Environmental Law in France.
Dignity in Constitutions
Here is a listing of constitutional provisions from more than 160 countries that protect human dignity. It is also recognized in the constitutions of states and provinces in the US, Brazil, and elsewhere.
Dignity in the Classroom
Dignity Now! is partnering with schools and advocacy networks in the US, Asia, and Africa to develop educational materials to ensure that young people know their dignity-based rights and are able to claim them. Whether they are in conflict with the law or in otherwise vulnerable circumstances, or aspiring lawyers and advocates, young people need to know their own inherent worth and their rights to protection, provision, and participation.
Dignity in US Criminal Law
Available for free download as a pdf, this book shows how the US criminal legal system debases and degrades people, and provides a roadmap for what we can do about it. It is the product of the Dignity Rights Clinic at Delaware Law School, in collaboration with the Prison Legal Advocacy Network (PLAN). It contains chapters on arrest, pretrial detention and bail, sentencing, conditions of incarceration, and reentry, and the treatment of young people in the system.
Dignity Rights Scholarship
There are dozens of books and articles about dignity. This bibliography focuses on scholarship from just the last few years.
Click here for free download!