Dignidade da pessoa humana: um conceito dentro da perspectiva dos direitos fundamentais inscritos na Constituição Federal do Brasil e sua contraposição às decisões do Supremo Tribunal Federal.

Abstract

Human dignity is a norm explicitly written in the Brazilian Constitution. As it is put in the constitutional text, it will define the activities of the three branches of State Power: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. Nevertheless, although a written norm, there is no consensus about the contents and reach of human dignity in Brazilian Law; it is in constant change due to the rulings of Brazilian Constitutional Court. It is imperative, then, to try and limit the frontiers of the norm of human dignity so as to allow the prediction of judicial rulings and pacification in social relations, balancing individual freedom with social needs. In the intent of reaching this objective this research will delimitate the moments of beginning and end of human personality, during which the Brazilian Constitution bestows dignity to its citizens. The concept of human dignity will be extracted from the numerous individual rights granted by article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution. This conception shall be opposed to the one elicited from the rulings and opinions of the Brazilian Constitutional Court along with critical remarks to the use of interpretation criteria of constitutional norms employed in Brazil, named proportionality and balancing, and to the generalized use of the principle of proscription of social improvement.