In two important recent decisions, Canadian courts have had to consider the lawfulness of internal administrative arrangements designed to promote consistent decision-making. On both occasions, the arrangements ran afoul of the principles of administrative law. In Shuttleworth v. Ontario (Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals), 2019 ONCA 518 a process of peer review of draft […] Read more

I’m grateful to Radio Canada and the hosts of the Stereo Decisis podcast for giving me the opportunity to speak about the Case of Prorogations [2019] UKSC 41 this week. As it happens the decision was handed down on my birthday, which was quite the present. I’ve embedded the Stereo Decisis discussion here: And here […] Read more

Brexit provided more grist for the public law mill this morning with the UK Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in R (Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41. In a judgment written by Lady Hale and Lord Reed, the Court held, first, that Prime Minister Johnson’s advice to prorogue Parliament was unlawful and, second, that the […] Read more

When I lectured administrative law at the University of Cambridge, I received one question from the floor in three years. (Students have fortnightly small-group supervisions, so tend to save their inquiries for their supervisors.) I regularly asked the students if they had any questions and sometimes jokingly complained that they were too shy. This machismo […] Read more