Independence of administrative decision-makers is a variable concept, as Richard Revesz and Kirti Datla remind us: Structural differences between agencies result in different levels of independence. Seven structural features are traditionally associated with agency independence: removal protection, specified tenure, multimember structure, partisan balance requirements, litigation authority, budget and congressional communication authority, and adjudication authority. Some […] Read more

Having worked at the tribunal coalface for many years, Ron Ellis is very well placed to comment on the independence of Canada’s administrative tribunals. In Unjust by Design, he eviscerates the current system and draws out a road map for reform. The book is fascinating and well worth reading in full. I will limit myself […] Read more

The decision in Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Government of Saskatchewan, 2013 SKCA 61, is unsurprising and, barring an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada (leave for which is unlikely to be forthcoming in my view), brings to an end an interesting administrative-law saga.The basic issue here is that a provision in the provincial […] Read more