Zasada poszanowania godności ludzkiej w wykładni Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Unii Europejskiej

Article has been focused on the notion of human dignity as interpreted by the CJEU and its evolution during history of European integration. In the beginning the competence conferred on the European Communities pertained generally to the economic area so the possibility of affecting the rights of individuals was not apparent. The expressive recognition of the principle of human dignity by the CJEU occurred rather late with the ruling of 2001 regarding the Directive on the legal protection of biotechnical inventions. The CJEU’s judgement in Omega was of crucial importance because it confirmed that a fundamental right to human dignity is part of EU law. The Brüstle judgement of 2011, regarding the context of bioscience and biotechnology, brought more light on the CJEU positon with reference to the issue of human dignity. In this case the age-old problem of the moral status of the embryo is the central issue. Today this decision is seen as a justification and vindication of the principle of human dignity.