Administrative Law Matters

Commentary on developments in administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative action by common law courts.

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Maybe it Does Matter, After All

I recently highlighted Professor Andrew Green’s paper on the effect — or not! — of Supreme Court of Canada decisions in administrative law. I am happier to report that a new paper published in Canadian Public Administration by David Said comes to the conclusion that the Court’s decisions can be significant: “Navigating entangled terrain: The […] Read more

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Administrative Tribunals in Canada: Constitutional Subordinates or Equal Partners?

I have posted a new paper to SSRN, “Administrative Tribunals in Canada: Constitutional Subordinates or Equal Partners“, a chapter in a forthcoming edited collection on Administrative Tribunals in the Common Law World. Here is the abstract: In this Chapter, I explore the tension between two propositions in Canadian public law. On the one hand, administrative […] Read more

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Clarity on the Challenges for Systemic Challenges: Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 17

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 17 sets out some important principles about challenges to government action at the intersection of constitutional and administrative law. On balance, I think the decision limits the potential for systemic challenges to complex statutory and regulatory regimes […] Read more

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Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium 2024

The theme for next year’s Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium is “Executive Power”: Executive power has been the site of passionate debate in liberal democracies for many centuries. In recent decades, authority has concentrated in the hands of presidents and prime ministers, with voters increasingly looking to these office holders to give effect to their […] Read more

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Nothing Really Matters? Andrew Green on Judicial Reforms to Administrative Law

I should flag a very fun/interesting/depressing paper by Professor Andrew Green (University of Toronto), “How Important are the Groundbreaking Cases in Administrative Law?“: The story of Canadian administrative law could seen as a move towards deference driven by some fundamental decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada. Debates about this move centre around the proper […] Read more