Self-restraint, deference and margin of appreciation

The aim of this paper is to make a brief review of the origins and development of the principles of self-restraint, deference and margin of appreciation, both in the field of Constitutional Law and International Law, particularly the International Law of Human Rights. Along with analyzing the relationship between judges and the control of power, and the separation of powers as a limit for the judicial review, will be revised the meaning of these principles and how they have been received in England, the USA, Germany and France, as well as in the field of international human rights courts and supranational integration courts. Finally the article contains a brief reference to the concept of self-restraint, reasoned deference and margin of appreciation in the Chilean Constitutional Court.