Human dignity as a fundamental basis and a practical tool of “right to hope” in criminal law

The scientific article focuses on the analysis of a sentence of life imprisonment without a realistic prospect of release in Ukraine as a violation of the “right to hope” in the context of the human dignity category. The study provides an overview of approaches to the definition of human dignity in national legal doctrine and practice, a historical and legal analysis of the origins of legal regulation of the idea of ​​respect for human dignity in international legal acts, and analyses the constitutional stages of the evolution of this concept as a matter of international law. The author has reviewed the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on this issue and studied the reasons of the Court on setting standards for acceptable treatment of a person through the lenses of human dignity and the inadmissibility of inhuman and degrading offences. Taking into account these standards, a critical assessment has been carried out, in particular, of the judicial practice of the Federal Republic of Germany on the application to a prisoner of such a type of punishment as preventive detention with indefinite duration. Emphasis has been given to the national judicial practice in cases of possible releasing life-sentenced prisoners in the conclusions of the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court and the decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on this issue. Based on the results of the study, a set of measures, including amending the legislation to bring it in line with the requirements of European human rights standards to protect human dignity and ensure the “right to hope” has been offered.