DEFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL Y DISCRECIÓN NACIONAL BAJO EL PACTO INTERNACIONAL DE DERECHOS CIVILES Y POLÍTICOS

The paper offers a doctrinal reconstruction of the Human Rights Committee's jurisprudence on national discretion and international deference. First, it analyzes how the Committee has avoided the use of the European "margin of appreciation" doctrine. Second, the paper reviews cases in which the Committee has developed particular deference standards, from strict scrutiny to those giving latitude to national author-ities. It concludes by asserting that the Committee has granted discretion to domestic bodies, though only on case-by-case basis.