This article applies comparative law tools to portray eight significant aspects of the constitutional right to human dignity in Germany and Israel. The elements considered are: the constitutional status of human dignity; the nature of the right; its effect on other constitutional rights; its scope and definition; waiver of human dignity; human dignity after death; negative and positive aspects of the right; and the right to asylum. The textual foundations of the respective constitutional guarantees are as different as human dignity's core meaning. In Germany, such guarantees are held to be absolute, immune to restriction, and therefore quite narrow in scope. In Israel, the scope of the right is much broader, but it is subject to limitations when placed against the public interest. Still, based on the findings of our comprehensive comparison, similar dynamics can be identified in Germany and Israel. The constitutional coverage of both absolute and relative principles is broad, as are the constitutional lacunas, which are those dimensions of constitutional law neglected by the written constitution.I.
May criminalization constitute a violation of a constitutional right? This question has rarely been discussed directly in the legal literature. This Article offers a novel and fully developed normative framework for courts to review the constitutionality of substantive criminal law. It suggests a distinction between extra- and intra-constitutional approaches, offers a critique of existing approaches, and proposes a new intra-constitutional approach to the distinction between criminal offenses that may constitute an infringement upon constitutional rights and those that do not. The Article suggests that a constitutional right against criminalization may apply (and only apply) to activities that have substantive positive social value and do not impose any substantive social harm. The Article recommends some criteria for applying this framework.
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