Traditionally courts have seen themselves as the guardians of fair procedures. The substance of administrative decisions is for the decision-makers: they are the ones entrusted by the legislature with making decisions, and they have the expertise to do so. Courts have been much less deferential in addressing the processes by which those decisions are reached. […] Read more

The recent UK Supreme Court decision in Osborn v. The Parole Board, [2013] UKSC 61 has already provoked interesting commentary on the relationship between the common law of procedural fairness and the European Convention on Human Rights. I have nothing to add to that commentary, but one of the things I find interesting about Osborn […] Read more

The UK government has established a variety of schemes with the goal of returning welfare recipients to the workforce. Some require claimants to work in return for benefits. R. (Reilly) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, [2013] UKSC 68 addresses the legality of two of these “workfare” schemes. Of particular interest, given the […] Read more

Quebec’s Charbonneau Commission is continuing to make headlines. Most recently, the testimony of Ken Pereira, a former trade union activist, is keeping the printing presses tipping over. The Commission registered an important victory earlier this week before the Superior Court on a question of procedural fairness: Beaulieu c. Charbonneau, 2013 QCCS 4629.One of the witnesses […] Read more

Public Service Alliance of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2013 FC 91 is an illuminating case on many issues, especially procedural fairness.  At issue was a labour relations dispute between the federal government and one of its agencies. The bone of contention was a direction by the Minister for Canadian Heritage that a group of […] Read more

Somewhat obvious, one would have thought! One can imagine the surprise of the applicant in Can-Euro Investments Ltd. v. Ollive Properties Ltd., 2013 NSCA 80, who, having withdrawn an appeal before the Utility and Review Board was nonetheless strongly criticized in a decision handed down weeks later. The relevant facts can be briefly recounted: [26]   […] Read more

The decision of the UK Supreme Court in Bank Mellat v Her Majesty’s Treasury (No. 2) [2013] UKSC 39 is not exactly ground-breaking as a matter of law, and is certainly the poor relation of Bank Mellat (No. 1), UKSC 38 (see e.g. here), but it is nonetheless a very interesting case on the application […] Read more

An English accountant, Mr. Hill, was the subject of disciplinary proceedings. Hill gave lengthy evidence-in-chief and was also cross-examined. On one of the days of the hearing, one of the tribunal members left early, with the agreement of counsel for both sides. A transcript was provided to the member and he was able to ask […] Read more

Public procurement is governed by a plurality of legal regimes. Statutes, regulations, international law and common law all have a say. Norms are enforceable by judicial review and (somewhat more lucratively) in private actions. Given the pluralistic nature of legal regulation of public procurement, it is unsurprising that norms associated more with public law have […] Read more

In most jurisdictions, courts have had difficulty in calibrating the appropriate procedures for public office-holders. It is easy to understand why: employment — and dismissal — by public bodies is bound up with statute and thus presents questions that are amenable to judicial review. However, many public employees also benefit from contractual protections, just like […] Read more