Finally, the checks and balances of sovereign debt restructuring by investment tribunals are also implemented as a matter of the interpretation of the substantive provisions. Given that investment arbitral jurisprudence has incorporated the doctrine of margin of appreciation, the study has concluded that a deferential review of policy decision-making by debtor sovereigns is available and appropriate for arbitral tribunals. Concretely, the arbitral jurisprudence on the provisions providing standards of protection and defence on merits may afford a balancing exercise that enables safeguarding the legitimate policy of debt restructuring without sacrificing bondholder protection.

This chapter analyses the standards of review in Irish constitutional property law and their relationship to the text of the constitutional property clauses. It has a particular focus on the proportionality principle, which is an important point of convergence between many jurisdictions with constitutional property rights guarantees. It focuses on the distinctive questions that arise where it is deployed by judges in constitutional property rights adjudication. It futher considers the impact of the progressively framed text of the Irish Constitution's property rights clauses on the formulation and application of standards of review. It demonstrates that the form of constitutional property clauses may have limited impact in shaping the application of general standards of review, and argues for a greater judicial focus on the core question of fairness posed by constitutional property law.