The discourse on ‘human dignity’ in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

The protection of “human dignity” features in many national constitutions. This concept, however, has no equivalent in the Chinese language. Article 38 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China explicitly protects its citizens from the violation of personal integrity which comes close to the idea of “human dignity”. Whether the two expressions bear the same meaning is subject to the different opinions of Chinese legal scholars. On the other hand, the same group of academics has different views on the status of “human dignity” in China’s Constitution. This article argues that regardless whether “human dignity” is seen as a specific right, a right for every individual, or a foundational doctrine for human rights protection under the Constitution, it can be truly respected only when constitutionalism is practised in China. Experience from the Federal Republic of Germany may shed light on China’s march towards constitutionalism and the rule of law. 不少國家的憲法均有保障公民「人的尊嚴」的條文。中華人民共和國憲法第38條保護公民的「人格尊嚴，不受侵犯」。至於「人的尊嚴」與「人格尊嚴」這兩個概念是否相同的問題，在中國法學界存有不同的意見。此外，中國法學界對於「人格尊嚴」在中國憲制中的地位也有不同的看法。本文旨在指出，無論「人格尊嚴」被看成是一個個別的條例或是每個公民的權利，還是具有憲制精神且保障人權的基礎性條文，長遠來說，唯有落實具有德治和法治理念的憲政主義，「人格尊嚴」方可在中國得到真正的尊重和保障，而不至流於執政者美麗的空談。聯邦德國的經驗，大概可以作為中國邁向憲政主義以及法治社會的寶貴參考。