whether because of their colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or social condition – they are not just a frustrated consumer: they are a citizen whose equal dignity has been denied. Therefore, we propose the express recognition of the fundamental right of non-discriminatory access to public establishments as a minimum requirement of constitutional democracy. This is not a matter of creating a new right, but of making explicit what already follows from the systematic combination of dignity (Art. 1, III, CF/88), equality (Art. 5, caput, CF/88) and international human rights commitments (such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 21). This recognition would have significant practical effects: it would consolidate the responsibility of establishments, guide judicial interpretation and, above all, symbolically affirm that society’s common table does not allow arbitrary exclusions. The restaurant will continue to be a paradoxical space – private in ownership, public in function. But it is precisely in this tension that its richness as an object of legal reflection lies. Every time a door opens unconditionally, the Constitution is fulfilled. Every time a pretext for exclusion is invented, it is denied. Between invitation and refusal, between hospitality and hostility, it is decided daily whether we live in a real or merely formal democracy. The restaurant table is, after all, a metonymy for the larger table of the Republic. Those who are excluded from it lose not only a meal: they lose a part of their citizenship. That is why the right of access, far from being a minor issue, touches the very heart of the constitutional project. In a society that claims to be free, fair and supportive, no one can be barred at the door. The critical hermeneutics of access to the restaurant thus reveals a broader truth: there is only democracy where there is room at the table for everyone. Or, to put it succinctly: without a place at the table, there is no democracy. REFERENCES BOSSIS, Gaëlle. La sécurité sanitaire des aliments en droit international et communautaire. Brussels: Bruylant, 2005, pp. 112-115. EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Çam v. Turkey (Application no. 51500/08), judgment of 23 February 2016. Available at: https:// hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-161149 . Accessed on: 5 Sept. 2025. COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Centrum voor 599 FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO RESTAURANTS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==