The Relevance of Deference to Domestic Officials in the Practice of International Law

What is it about?

This paper highlights the focus of my monograph, "Judging at the Interface: Deference to State Decision-Making Authority in International Adjudication" (published by Cambridge University Press), and responds to reviewer comments on the book to highlight the role and importance of deference in international adjudication. The paper focusses the concept of "deference" and considers how this concept differs - and intersects - with related concepts such as "justiciability", "restraint", and "restrictive interpretation". It further outlines the situations in which deference will be relevant in international adjudication, including to outline the extent to which the claims to authority by international adjudicators and domestic officials overlap in practice. Finally, it considers the importance of all this to the practice of international law, highlighting how my book "offers a map to navigate through the concept of deference".

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Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash

Photo by Mathias Reding on Unsplash

Why is it important?

As the paper highlights, my book "Judging at the Interface" aims to bring into the spotlight the contents of international law’s deference “toolbox”. In doing so, it draws attention to the different approaches for analysing deference that have been adopted in international adjudication to date, their doctrinal structure and applicability, and their structural implications for the relationship between the domestic and international legal orders. The inclusive approach adopted in Judging at the Interface ensures that the analysis is not blinkered and limited to any one conception of (or label for) deference. Instead, the framework adopted aims to encompass various approaches to deference to demonstrate how they operate as part of a coherent whole and produce broad systemic impacts. Deference is important both as a tool to secure appropriate respect for domestic decision-making, but for what it reveals about the changing nature and structure of authority in international adjudication.

Perspectives