Ricerc@Sapienza

The article delves into the relationship between human dignity and fundamental freedoms, considering the particular cases of voluntary prostitution and assisted suicide. Drawing upon the recent judgments of the Italian Constitutional Court (n. 141 and 242 of 2019), it is argued that the criminalization of aiding another person in prostituting themselves or committing suicide is compatible with the provisions of the Constitution. In fact, both judgments explicitly affirm that the rationale of the criminal offenses under scrutiny is to be found in the protection of vulnerable persons. Based on such assertion, the main contention of the article is that in these judgments the Court conceptualizes the relationship between liberty and dignity through the prism of the principle of equality. Furthermore, it is purported that such an interpretation is warranted – from a de jure condito perspective – insofar as it neutralizes the widespread contentions of legal paternalism attached to the above-mentioned criminal offenses. Accordingly, the article also finds that – from a de jure condendo standpoint – the newly-recognized rationale of these offences will trigger the need to effectively ascertain the free will of the person who chooses to sell sex or die.