Some Problems Related to the “Human Embryo” in the European Union Law

The following article is dedicated to the topic of human dignity - the human embryos and the legal framework they are regulated by in the EU: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union and the EU Court practice. For the purpose, the authors look first and foremost at the EU Directive 98/44, regulating the legal protection of biotechnological inventions which aim at balancing the human beings' dignity and integrity with the need to preserve the social function of patents as a vector for the competiveness of the European biotech industry. Two key EU Court cases are analyzed, both of which reflecting the evolution of the Court of Justice on the European Union's Case Law on Stem Cell Patents, namely Case C-34/10 Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace е. V. and Case C-364/13 International Stem Cell Corporation. The article looks then at the European Citizens’ Initiative “One of us”, which aims at securing Juridical protection of the dignity, the right to life, as well as to the integrity of every human being from conception in those areas of EU competence where such protection has a particular importance.