Human Dignity and Law
This line of research focuses on human dignity as a legal category, as well as on the philosophical
foundations thereof. The starting point of the research was identifying the special place that dignity
occupies within various legal systems, along with the growing interest in courts’ jurisprudence. The
crucial publication in this research area has been Michał Rupniewski’s monograph, “Human Dignity
and the Law: A Personalist Theory” (Routledge 2022). It provides a study and a development of the
personalist conception of dignity and serves as the foundation for further research. The most
significant outcome of the research to date has been the formulation of a personalist theory of
dignity as a cosmopolitan legal principle.
In a broader socio-civilizational context, research on dignity is particularly important in light of the
crisis of liberal democracy and the human rights framework. Both of these crises are intertwined with
yet another – the crisis of trust in the law. Another pressing issue that calls for a renewed perspective
through the lens of dignity is the digital revolution and the increasingly common use of artificial
intelligence in making legally relevant decisions, including public sector. A new connection between
law and the personal dimension of human practices provide conceptual foundations for overcoming
such challenges, transformations, and crises.
The personalist theory of dignity interprets law and legal practices primarily as expressions of a
special kind of status of human persons (including, but not limited to their autonomy and agency),
which imposes far-reaching obligations on public authorities that create and apply the law.
This line of research was supported by the National Science Centre (Poland) under project UMO-
2016/23/D/HS5/02400, “Human Dignity as a Foundational Value of Law: A Personalist Explanation”
(project completed).
Publications
M. Rupniewski, Human Dignity and the Law: A Personalist Theory, Abington and New York, Routledge 2022
M. Rupniewski, “Human Dignity as Law’s Foundation: An Outline for a Personalist Jurisprudence”, in:
The Inherence of Human Dignity Dignity Volume I: Foundations of Human Dignity, edited by Barry
Busey and Angus Menuge, Anthem Press, 2021.
M. Rupniewski, „Ujęcie solidarności w ‘Osobie i czynie’ Karola Wojtyły. Analiza krytyczna i próba
rozwinięcia”, Myśl Polityczna 4(10), 2021.
M. Rupniewski, “Rewolucja cyfrowa jako problem etyczny”, Przegląd Nauk Ekonomicznych 27, 2017.
M. Rupniewski, “Understanding Fundamental Rights: The Role of Conscience”, Supreme Court Law
Review, Second Series, V.113, 2023.
M. Rupniewski, „W stronę personalistycznej doktryny prawnej. Implikacje antropologii i etyki
Tadeusza Stycznia SDS i kard. Karola Wojtyły dla nauki prawa”, Ethos 1 (149), 2025
Media
Michał Rupniewski w programie OFF Czarek w Radiu TOK FM
