Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium 2025: Justifying Judicial Review

The theme for next year’s Administrative Law & Governance Colloquium is “Justifying Judicial Review”:

Western constitutional democracies live in turbulent times, buffeted by populism, technological development, globalization and other challenges. Some see the courts as bastions of principle capable of helping countries to navigate contemporary storms. But others view judges as unelected philosopher kings who represent elite interests against the concerns of ordinary citizens and their representatives. In this seminar we will examine the legitimacy of judicial review in the company of world-leading experts who have recently made major scholarly contributions on the issue. Taking a realistic view of judicial review as it is practiced in common law countries, as well as legislative and executive commitment to constitutionalism, students will enhance their understanding of a critical feature that the Canadian legal system holds in common with other Commonwealth jurisdictions. Students in this seminar will examine a series of contemporary works on judicial review, in the company of the globally renowned authors of the works in question and esteemed commentators.

As ever, I will be joined by leading experts from around the world to discuss their recent, cutting-edge research on matters related to this general theme. Confirmed and invited speakers are Aileen Kavanagh (Trinity College Dublin), Rosalind Dixon (University of New South Wales), Jason Grant Allen (Singapore Management University), Paolo Sandro (University of Leeds), and Roberto Gargarella (Universidad Torcuato di Tella y de la Universidad de Buenos Aires).

Colloquium sessions will be held via Zoom on Wednesdays in February, March and April 2025. Attendance is open to all.

The Colloquium’s Directed Research Project can be taken for 3 credits by uOttawa JD students. Students are expected to attend the series of seminars (save where written permission has been obtained in advance) and to produce a paper of 7,500 to 10,000 words based on the Colloquium theme, in English or in French. Several papers produced in recent years have been published; one was recently cited by the Ontario Court of Appeal in Khorsand v. Toronto Police Services Board, 2024 ONCA 597, at para. 71 (congratulations to Robert Boissonneault!).

As a project-based research and writing course, students’ work will be independent and self-directed. In collaboration with the speakers, Professor Daly will provide a detailed reading list in advance of each seminar. A general reading list will also be made available. Professor Daly will meet with enrolled students twice, on an individual basis: once at the beginning of the Winter Term to discuss the student’s proposed project and once in the middle of the Winter Term to discuss the student’s progress. These individualized supervisions, along with knowledge acquired from prior study, the general reading list, the detailed reading lists and seminar attendance, will equip students to produce their papers.

Registration in this course is by application. Students interested in enrolling should email Professor Daly (paul.daly@uottawa.ca) with (a) a brief statement of a proposed project; (b) a CV; and (c) an up-to-date law school transcript (official or unofficial).

This content has been updated on August 22, 2024 at 16:06.