Administrative Law Matters
Commentary on developments in administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative action by common law courts.
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When Do Guidelines Bind? Outside the Analytical Framework
I have written a paper entitled, “How Binding are Binding Guidelines? An Analytical Framework” to be published later this year in Canadian Public Administration. You can access a pre-publication version here. In this post, I discuss two features that, although they are regularly mentioned in the case law, are not actually indicative of bindingness. Two […] Read more
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Constitutional Questions in Administrative Tribunals: Findings of Fact and Remedies
Next week, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the appeal from Association des cadres de la Société des casinos du Québec c. Société des casinos du Québec, 2022 QCCA 180. This case sits at the intersection of constitutional law and administrative law. It poses interesting questions about the standard of review for factually infused […] Read more
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The Prospects for Candour in Canada: Solutions for the Limited Record Problem
In previous posts, I introduced the duty of candour in judicial review proceedings (here), explained the limited content of the record for judicial review purposes in Canada (here and here) and critically analyzed the current state of the law (here). In this post, I discuss some solutions for the limited record problem: taking a muscular […] Read more
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When Do Guidelines Bind? Intended Effects on Third Parties
I have written a paper entitled, “How Binding are Binding Guidelines? An Analytical Framework” to be published later this year in Canadian Public Administration. You can access a pre-publication version here. In this post, I discuss how intended effects on third parties are an indicium of bindingness. The extent to which a guideline is drafted […] Read more
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Judicial Review of AI-Aided Decisions: Haghshenas v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 464
No sooner had I started to play around with Chat GPT-4 to write administrative decisions than the Federal Court issued a decision on the use of AI in the administrative decision-making process. In Haghshenas v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 464, Brown J considered whether using an AI system (Chinook) in writing a decision […] Read more
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Chat GPT4: Decision Writing and Boilerplate
I asked Chat GPT4 to help me write an administrative decision refusing a student visa application. Sure, here’s an example of how you could structure an administrative decision regarding a student visa application: [Date] [Applicant Name] [Address] [City, Province/State] [Country] [Postal Code] Dear [Applicant Name], Re: [File Number] I am writing to inform you of […] Read more
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Reminder: Peter Conti-Brown on Central Banks, Tuesday April 4 at 11.30 via Zoom (Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium 2023)
The last speaker in this year’s Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium, “The Legitimacy of the State” will be Professor Peter Conti-Brown (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania). You can register here or simply join us at this link on Zoom on Tuesday. Professor Conti-Brown will be speaking about central banking, based on his book The Power […] Read more
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When Do Guidelines Bind? The Level of Detail and Precision
I have written a paper entitled, “How Binding are Binding Guidelines? An Analytical Framework” to be published later this year in Canadian Public Administration. You can access a pre-publication version here. In a previous post, I introduced the paper. In this post, I explain the second indicium of bindingness: the level of detail and precision […] Read more
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The Prospects for Candour in Canada: Why a Limited Record is Problematic
Having described in previous posts the limited content of the record for judicial review purposes in Canada (here and here), I turn now to critical analysis. I will suggest in this post that a limited record can undermine judicial review by preventing courts from performing their constitutionality duty of assessing the lawfulness of administrative action […] Read more
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When Do Guidelines Bind? Presence or Absence of Imperative Language
I have written a paper entitled, “How Binding are Binding Guidelines? An Analytical Framework” to be published later this year in Canadian Public Administration. You can access a pre-publication version here. In a previous post, I introduced the paper. In this post, I explain the first indicium of bindingness: the presence or absence of imperative […] Read more