Embodied Dignity
5:1 Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal 63-83, 2005
22 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2013
Date Written: August 1, 2005
Abstract
The paper studies judgments by the Supreme Court of Canada under the equality guarantee in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It argues that the Court is making human dignity a quality too abstract and intellectual, drifting away from an integrated notion that includes both mental and bodily integrity. Consequently, the Court will overlook physical disadvantage to the claimant group where it identifies a way in which the law benefits the group’s psychological dignity. To the contrary, judges hearing an equality claim must take into account the impugned measure's bodily effects. It is not that the mere presence of detrimental bodily effects entails a conclusion of discrimination, but the analysis cannot be complete where such effects are not considered.
Keywords: equality, dignity, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, embodiment
JEL Classification: K19
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation