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Speaker: Dr Tamas Gyorfi

The Debate about Due Deference

Abstract:

Judicial deference has become a central issue in contemporary British public law. The debates about the interpretation of the Human Rights Act 1998 revolve to a great extent around that issue. “It is becoming clearer by the day, claims Jeffrey Jowell, “that the most difficult question for the courts in the interpretation of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is the extent to which they should defer to Parliament and other institutions of government on matters relating to the public interest.” The purpose of my presentation is put to test what I consider the mainstream position on deference. I will argue that both the conceptual and the normative foundations of the mainstream position are shaky and have to be reconsidered.