TY - JOUR
TI - Regulated Human Skin: Tattoos as Expressions of Art, Culture, and Public Law
AU - Ortega-Ruíz, Luis Germán
TI - Regulated Human Skin: Tattoos as Expressions of Art, Culture, and Public Law
AB - This article examines the legal consequences of imposing normative, regulatory, or contractual restrictions on tattooing, conceiving it as a form of cultural and artistic expression that challenges the structure of public law. The analysis is situated within public law and cultural law, focussing on the limits to state and institutional measures when they affect fundamental rights such as bodily autonomy, freedom of expression, image rights, and the free development of personality. From a methodological standpoint, the research follows a qualitative and analytical path in legal reasoning, presenting doctrinal analysis with comparative and jurisprudential examination. It draws upon constitutional provisions, statutory frameworks, and judicial precedents, as well as academic discussions in the fields of fundamental rights, health regulation, and bioethics. The inclusion of cases from Colombia, the United States, Japan, Germany, and Ecuador was guided by a comparative rationale that seeks to reveal points of convergence and divergence among legal systems, rather than promoting their normative homogenization. Ultimately, the purpose is to advance a deeper legal comprehension of how tattooing is interpreted within different jurisdictions, especially when it intersects with practices that enjoy constitutional protection as expressions of culture.
VL - 2025
IS - 2/2025 (11)
PY - 2025
SN - 2391-7997
C1 - 2450-050X
SP - 169
EP - 184
DO - 10.4467/2450050XSNR.25.021.22686
UR - https://ejournals.eu/czasopismo/saaclr/artykul/regulated-human-skin-tattoos-as-expressions-of-art-culture-and-public-law
KW - cultural law
KW - freedom of bodily expression
KW - personal autonomy
KW - right to one’s own image
KW - tattoo