Administrative Law Matters
Commentary on developments in administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative action by common law courts.
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Social Media Platforms as Common Carriers
Paul Daly October 14, 2022
I have not had as much time as I would like recently to pursue my research interests in the regulation of social media platforms. Before the pandemic, I wrote favourably of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel: What are the social media behemoths — Facebook, Google, Netflix, Twitter, Youtube, etc — that have come […] Read more
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A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine, Part II.C, The General Principles of Judicial Review
Paul Daly October 11, 2022
This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ Professor Allan’s third proposition is that there are no general principles of judicial review. Indeed, the very proposition that general principles give administrative law a “genuine sense” is “actually a contradiction in terms”.[1] As a “body of doctrine”, administrative law lacks “any […] Read more
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A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine, Part II.B, Legality, Rationality and Procedural Propriety
Paul Daly October 7, 2022
This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ The second proposition is that the heads of review – legality, rationality and procedural propriety – are too abstract to guide judges: “Though a convenient summary of our conclusions in any particular case, the doctrine cannot provide any justifying ground for those […] Read more
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A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine, Part II.A, The Constitutional Foundations of Judicial Review
Paul Daly October 1, 2022
This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ In his writings on deference, Professor Allan picked up on a theme he had first elaborated in “Doctrine and theory in administrative law: an elusive quest for the limits of jurisdiction”.[1] As he later summarized his general position, doctrinal grounds of review […] Read more
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Reconciliation and Regulation
Paul Daly September 30, 2022
In this post, I want to mark the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation by highlighting two recent Alberta Court of Appeal decisions on reconciliation and regulation. Both treat reconciliation as an integral part of the regulatory enterprise. Consider first Fort McKay First Nation v Prosper Petroleum Ltd, 2020 ABCA 163. Here, the Alberta Energy […] Read more
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A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine, Part I, Allan’s Critique of Due Deference
Paul Daly September 26, 2022
This is an extract from my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine“ It is necessary at the outset to define what I mean by “doctrine”. What I have in mind is an account which provides a “systemic conception” of a particular area of law, setting out the relevant principles, rules and standards in a […] Read more
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Justice Abella’s Administrative Law Jurisprudence: Critical Analysis
Paul Daly September 23, 2022
For previous posts in this series, prepared for today’s University of Toronto symposium on Justice Abella, see here, here and here In the scholarly literature on deference, one finds pro-deference arguments based on legislative intent,[1] relative institutional competence,[2] democratic legitimacy[3] and much else besides.[4] These arguments tend to be developed from the perspective of the […] Read more
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Justice Abella’s Administrative Law Jurisprudence: Empowering Administrative Decision-makers
Paul Daly September 22, 2022
This is the latest in a series of posts on Justice Abella’s administrative law jurisprudence (see also here and here). What I find distinctive is her commitment to administrative autonomy, which I describe in this post. Tune in tomorrow to hear more! Justice Abella’s jurisprudence was, however, not all about protecting administrative decision-makers. On another […] Read more
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Justice Abella’s Administrative Law Jurisprudence: Protecting Administrative Decision-makers
Paul Daly September 22, 2022
I am speaking tomorrow (virtually) at a symposium at the University of Toronto celebrating Justice Abella’s career. My topic is the “Autonomy of Administration”, which I introduced in a previous post. Here is the first of two posts on Justice Abella’s promotion of administrative autonomy, to be followed tomorrow by a critical analysis of her […] Read more
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New Paper — A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine
Paul Daly September 20, 2022
I was honoured to contribute to a recent symposium on the work of Professor TRS Allan. I have posted my paper “A Defence of Administrative Law Doctrine” to SSRN: Doctrine fits uneasily in Professor TRS Allan’s theory of law: on the one hand, for Professor Allan, “law” is the outcome of a process of all-things-considered […] Read more