Administrative law governs how public officials and tribunals exercise their legal authority. It ensures decision-making is fair, transparent, and accountable.
Tribunals are specialized decision-making bodies (e.g., immigration boards), often less formal than courts but still required to follow legal principles.
Judicial review allows courts to oversee decisions made by administrative bodies and ensure they were made within legal boundaries.
Grounds for Review:
| Standard | Used When | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Correctness | Legal questions of general importance or constitutional issues | Court substitutes its own interpretation |
| Reasonableness | Most administrative decisions | Court respects the tribunal's reasoning if it falls within a range of acceptable outcomes |
| Case | Significance |
|---|---|
| Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick | Established the modern approach to standard of review |
| Vavilov | Refined the framework from Dunsmuir and emphasized reasonableness |
| Baker v. Canada | Introduced contextual factors for procedural fairness |
| Pushpanathan v. Canada | Applied a pragmatic and functional approach to standard of review |
| Nicholson v. Haldimand-Norfolk | Recognized the duty of fairness in administrative decisions |