ISSN: 3107-4154
Volume I, Issue 2 (2025)
Administrative Deference in International Courts :
Loper Bright Echoes at IMCO, WHO, and ILO
Author – Daniel Stein, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University; Research Fellow, Center for ADR, Jindal Global Law School
* The author would like to thank Annika Muddappa Bollera (JGLS, BBA LLB, 2021)
Month, Year of Publication – June, 2025
Abstract
As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) considers an Advisory Opinion on whether or not the Right to Strike is implied in the ‘Right to organize’ contained in Convention 87 (C87) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), America’s Administrative Law was thrown into disarray when its Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled the Chevron doctrine that required courts to defer to Executive Agency constructions of their own statutes. Since there is no international equivalent to America’s Administrative Procedure Act, this article examines the scope of administrative deference in ICJ Advisory Opinions. This is the third time that the ICJ will act in this interpretive role, and by comparing those previous cases within the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this article examines how deferential those Advisory Opinions were to agency interpretations of their own Conventions and Constitutions, and what that could mean for the ICJ deferring to ILO’s leading interpretation of C87. Part one navigates the judgments of these two Advisory Opinions, while Part two examines the history of administrative deference in the United States. Part three considers how deferential the court could be to ILO’s interpretation of C87 considering these different theories and approaches. Part four presents a conclusion with some analysis and recommendations.
keywords
administrative deference, chevron doctrine, loper bright case, ICJ, advisory opinion
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Cite as
Stein, Daniel. “Administrative Deference in International Courts : Loper Bright Echoes at IMCO, WHO, and ILO” International Journal of Legal Policy, Vol.1(2) 3-21 (2025)
