The article provides a functionalist account of the ‘institutional uses’ of (human) dignity in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It looks at how the legal concept of dignity is invoked and used in the adjudication processes in the European Union, what is its role, and what are its practical effects. The aim is to arrive at a better understanding of the dignity’s functional roles in the EU, but also of the functional similarities and differences in comparison with other European jurisdictions. This will further show in what aspects dignity is independent of or dependent on institutional contexts in which it operates, especially regarding the judicial practices and mutual relationships between different courts.