Commentary on developments in administrative law, particularly judicial review of administrative action by common law courts.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal in United Nurses of Alberta v Alberta Health Services, 2021 ABCA 194. As I was retained to act for AHS on the leave application, I considered it was inappropriate to comment on the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal. With the […] Read more
I have posted “COVID-19 in Canada: the Legal Framework” to SSRN. This is a ‘country report’ prepared for the International Academy of Comparative Law. Here is the abstract: In the legal framework for Canada’s pandemic response, executive government has been the dominant actor. The responsibility of balancing public health and economic well-being in rapidly evolving […] Read more
I am looking forward to discussing (and defending!) Understanding Administrative Law in the Common Law World on Wednesday, with Professors Liston and Weinrib. Register here. Professor Liston’s work on the rule of law is required reading for Canadian law students and her vast scholarship on the foundational principles of administrative law comes highly recommended. Professor […] Read more
I have posted “Constitutionally Conforming Interpretation in Canada” to SSRN. Here is the abstract: The presumption of constitutionally conforming interpretation is an important part of Canadian constitutional law. But that there is fundamental disagreement about the presumption. This fundamental disagreement reveals the existence of two different camps of lawyers, which I label Type A and […] Read more
In its landmark decision in the Case of Prorogations, the United Kingdom Supreme Court suggested that the unlawfulness of Prime Minister Johnson’s advice to the Queen rendered it — and the prorogation that followed — a nullity. Together with the UKSC’s earlier decision in the unusual case of Ahmed (No. 2), the Case of Prorogations […] Read more
In a few minutes, Novak Djokovic’s challenge to the validity of the decision to cancel his visa is going to get underway before Australia’s federal court. You can access the court materials here. The live stream will be here. I do not think Djokovic is likely to win this case. He bears the onus to […] Read more
There is an interesting piece today in the Globe and Mail — Canada’s paper of record — about fundamental disagreement between the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada about the interpretation of the Charter. The nine judges are “more divided than ever” on fundamental legal questions. There is certainly a divide there, but it […] Read more
In Vavilov, the Supreme Court of Canada established three correctness categories which are exceptions to the presumption of reasonableness review. The majority also noted that these categories are not necessarily closed. To date, there has been little interest in identifying new categories, with the exception of Stratas JA’s discussion in Entertainment Software Association (in which […] Read more
With Joe Tomlinson (York) and Jennifer Raso (Alberta) I have posted “Administrative Law in the Digital World” to SSRN, a chapter to appear in Carol Harlow ed., Research Handbook on Administrative Law (Edward Elgar, 2022): The rapid advancement of digital technologies is now reaching into almost every aspect of human life. Administrative law scholars cannot […] Read more
Happy New Year to you all. Blogging has been hindered recently by a spectacular confluence of writing deadlines, with no fewer than four lengthy papers due for submission in January, but I expect normal service to resume over the next few weeks (including links to some of those papers). In the meantime, you may be […] Read more