Part-time LLM Specializing in Administrative Law:

Course Descriptions*

Administrative Law: Overview and Current Developments [GSLaw 6470]

[6 credits]

This course reviews the main principles and rules of the standard of review analysis, procedural fairness, and selected additional topics. The focus is on substantive and procedural grounds for judicial review and on current developments in the jurisprudence in these areas. Additional topics selected for study may include, for example, the impact of the state's international obligations on administrative action at the domestic level. The course lays a groundwork for the remainder of the program. It aims to provide an overview for students who have not previously had extensive exposure to administrative law, but also to afford for students, who are experienced in the subject, an opportunity to reflect on and develop their knowledge base.

Some Theoretical Perspectives on Public Law and Administration   [GSLaw 6761] [3 credits]

This course provides a theoretical framework by considering the application of some contemporary theories of, and perspectives on, public administration and administrative law. Theoretical perspectives considered will include: liberalism and the rule of law; the functionalist critique; legal pluralism; critical theory; feminism; public choice theory; organizational theory. A focus of the course is the need to articulate theoretical bases for identifying appropriate roles for legislatures, agencies and courts in promoting, through law, democratic values and the protection of human rights in the administrative state.

Current Issues in Judicial Review of Administrative Action

[GSLaw 6762] [3 credits]
This course examines some of the most important issues that have recently arisen in the course of the courts’ supervision of administrative action, such as procedural fairness and institutional decision-making; the giving of reasons; independence and impartiality; deliberative secrecy; specialization and expertise; and standards of court review of administrative decisions. It will also address, where applicable, the impact on administrative action of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Policy-Making in Administrative Tribunals [GSLaw 6763] [3 credits]
An important issue for many administrative agencies is whether, and when, they should engage in general rule or policy-making outside the adjudication of individual disputes. Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada related to a tribunal’s ability to issue binding guidelines provide a rich case study of a number of the issues raised by rule-making by independent agencies. The course also considers the respects in which the law has facilitated, required or hampered agencies in the greater use of open rule making.

Administrative Law Remedies [GSLaw 6765] [3 credits]
This course explores the range of remedies available to those who are aggrieved by some administrative action, inaction, or decision, and attempts to identify their respective strengths and limitations. Topics may include: the ability of agencies to reconsider their decisions; the power of agencies to determine the constitutional validity of their enabling legislation and their remedial powers; the relationship between administrative remedies and the exercise by the courts of their supervisory jurisdiction.

The “New” Administrative Law [GSLaw 6764] [3 credits]
This course explores recent developments in administrative law. In the past, the course has focused on such topics as the jurisprudence on Crown liability and regulatory negligence, the scope of the Crown’s fiduciary obligations to statutory benefits recipients; public inquiries; administrative law by appointments; and access to administrative justice.

The Law of Inquests [GSLaw 6760] [3 credits]
This course explores inquests as an example of an administrative context in which issues common to many administrative tribunals arise. The course examines matters such as standing, admissibility of evidence, procedural rules and judicial review.

Major Research Paper [6 credits]
A Major Research Paper (MRP) of approximately 70 pages may be completed on any topic related to your specialization, provided appropriate supervision is available.

The MRP should go beyond merely describing legal developments to include independent critical analysis of its subject matter. It should be work of publishable quality. You will be required, at a minimum, to submit to your supervisor an outline and bibliography for approval. The final paper is marked on a pass/fail basis.

Note: Curriculum and course descriptions are subject to change.

*New courses and course changes are subject to Senate approval.