Judicial review and judicial deference

This chapter considers the concept of deference in EU law and how it is deployed when the EU courts engage in judicial review. It is necessary, as will be seen in the ensuing analysis, to distinguish between the meaning of the concept of deference from use of the word. There is a proximate connection between deference and the rule of law, insofar as deference operates as a control device to help determine the intensity of judicial review, and hence the degree of judicial control over public power that is warranted. The concept of deference in EU law is evident in three doctrinal contexts: review for proportionality, review for manifest error, and review for human rights.