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.