Personal dignity as a constitutional value: concept, practice, technique

Abstract

The construction of the dignity of the individual is considered in the context of the cyclical politogenesis of the Russian state-legal system. Based on a comparative analysis of the concepts of ‘‘man’’, ‘‘citizen’’, ‘‘personality’’ in the Russian language and the domestic political and legal tradition, a hypothesis of the semantic transformation of these categories in the context of cultural and historical discreteness is put forward. It is noted that the current Constitution of the Russian Federation presents both normative and natural-legal types of legal understanding, which allows us to talk about the dual nature of personal dignity, including both natural (personal self-respect) and positive (respect for the human personality on the part of the state) components. A comparison is made of the “highest value” of a person declared at the constitutional level, his rights and freedoms, regardless of the individual socio-legal status and the actual situation that presupposes an attitude both to the individual himself and to his personal dignity, taking into account the place occupied in the social structure of society and appropriately assessed by the state (state rights). Proposals and recommendations are formulated concerning the consolidation of the system of constitutional guarantees for the realization and protection of the right of personal dignity, as well as the legal technique of its limitation.