This paper argues that human dignity is a sui generis status principle whose function lies in unifying our normative orders. More fully, human dignity denotes a basic status to be preserved in any institution or process; it is a principle demanding determination in different contexts; and it has its most characteristic application where the legal, moral, and political place competing obligations on individuals. The implication of this account is that we should not seek to reduce human dignity to either a legal norm or a legal principle.

中文翻译：

---

人的尊严为特殊原则

本文认为，人的尊严是一种特殊的地位原则，其功能在于统一我们的规范秩序。更全面地讲，人的尊严表示在任何机构或程序中都应维护的基本地位；这是一个需要在不同情况下确定的原则；它在法律，道德和政治对个人承担义务的地方具有其最独特的应用。这种说法的含义是，我们不应试图将人的尊严降低为法律规范或法律原则。