Administrative law is the law of public decision-making. It applies to a diverse group of public officials who exercise delegated power and deliver public programs and services. This group of public officials (i.e. administrative decision-makers) includes, for example, the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the Parole Board, the Canadian Judicial Council, the Benchers of the Law Society of Ontario, Cabinet (at the federal and provincial levels), municipal councils, many university decision-makers, public inquiries, and so on. Administrative decision-makers make countless decisions that impact the daily lives of individuals and communities, and many of these decisions involve a great deal of discretion. Administrative law aims to ensure that these decisions are transparent and justified, are unbiased and made according to fair procedure, are consistent with constitutional demands, and are within the scope of the decision-maker’s power.

In this course, we will critically examine whether administrative law achieves these aims. We will explore the following kinds of questions: How and why are certain public powers delegated to administrative decision-makers? What role do these decision-makers play in the structure of Canadian public life and in the lives of individuals? What principles should govern the design of administrative decision-makers to protect against and address individual and systemic bias? How do administrative bodies carry out their mandates and exercise their powers? What legal rules and principles govern administrative decision-making? What legal rights do individuals have when they access public services? Of what relevance is administrative law for Indigenous self-governance? What role does administrative law play in both undermining and advancing reconciliation? What are the principles and who are the actors of Aboriginal administrative law? When are courts justified in intervening in the decisions of public authorities? What remedies are available when public officials act unfairly, unreasonably or unlawfully? In answering these questions, we will seek to examine the rules of administrative law, the experiences of those affected by the administrative state, the ideals of justice that shape the law, the policy debates underlying administrative law, and the realities of practice in the administrative realm.

Administrative decision-makers are delegated authority by statute to implement legislative policy and deliver government services in a wide range of fields including public health and safety, immigration, labour relations, social benefits, securities regulation, business licensing and approvals, tenancies, professional regulation, communications and broadcasting and environmental protection, among others. For most people, interaction with the law is through one, or more, of these administrative decision-making bodies. Administrative law is the study of the rules that regulate the decision-makers exercise of this delegated power, including rules about fairness, transparency, justification, independence and compliance with the constitution and the decision-makers own jurisdiction. This course is an introductory overview of administrative law. The course will provide students with the necessary tools to engage meaningfully with the various statutory schemes and principles governing the administrative state, to think critically about the court’s role in reviewing administrative decisions, to question and compare the manner in which legislative policy is delivered by a variety of different administrative bodies and to reflect on what this communicates about the relative value the state places on different policies and services.

Administrative law is the law of public decision-making. It applies to a diverse group of public officials who exercise delegated power and deliver public programs and services. This group of public officials (i.e. administrative decision-makers) includes the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Ontario Social Benefits Tribunal, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the Parole Board, the Canadian Judicial Council, the Benchers of the Law Society of Ontario, Cabinet (at the federal and provincial levels), municipal councils, many university decision-makers, public inquiries, and so on. Administrative decision-makers make countless decisions that impact the daily lives of individuals and communities, and many of these decisions involve a great deal of discretion. Administrative law aims to ensure that these decisions are transparent and justified, are unbiased and made according to fair procedure, are consistent with constitutional demands, and are within the scope of the decision-maker’s power.

In this course, we will critically examine whether administrative law achieves these aims. We will explore the following kinds of questions: How and why are certain public powers delegated to administrative decision-makers? What role do these decision-makers play in the structure of Canadian public life and in the lives of individuals? What principles should govern the design of administrative decision-makers to protect against and address individual and systemic bias? How do administrative bodies carry out their mandates and exercise their powers? What legal rules and principles govern administrative decision-making? What legal rights do individuals have when they access public services? Of what relevance is administrative law for Indigenous self-governance? What role does administrative law play in both undermining and advancing reconciliation? What are the principles and who are the actors of Aboriginal administrative law? When are courts justified in intervening in the decisions of public authorities? What remedies are available when public officials act unfairly, unreasonably or unlawfully? In answering these questions, we will seek to examine the rules of administrative law, the experiences of those affected by the administrative state, the ideals of justice that shape the law, the policy debates underlying administrative law, and the realities of practice in the administrative realm.