Human Dignity as an Intrinsic Value of the Ius Gentium. Some Considerations on Individual Opinions to ICJ Decisions by Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade

The phenomenon of human dignity is very much present in differnt theoretical studies and scholar papers mostly devoted to human rights area. Similarly, the concept of human dignity is used as reference to value or principle by different adjudicative bodies on municipal or international level. This paper aims to present some tiny puzzle part theoretically constructed on individual opinions by Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado-Trindade, which were joint to judgments and decisions adopted by the International Court of Justice during his mandates from 2009 to 2022. Human dignity, or broadly perceived as the principle of humanity has been used by Judge Cançado-Trindade on many occasions and in a variety of areas of international law going form the law of treaties to the law of the protection of cultural heritage. Four distinct areas have been selected out of Cançado-Trindade’s individual opinions that shows how and to what extent human dignity revives specific concepts of international law: reparations, administration of justice, people-centred look on international law, inter-generational natural and cultural heritage.