A Wavering Commitment?: Administrative Independence and Collaborative Governance in Ontario’s Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability Legislation

23 Pages Posted: 21 May 2010 Last revised: 14 Jul 2011

See all articles by Laverne Jacobs

Laverne Jacobs

University of Windsor - Faculty of Law; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 17, 2010

Abstract

In December 2009, the Ontario Legislative Assembly enacted the Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability, Governance and Appointments Act, 2009 (ATAGAA). This new legislation offers a unique approach to ensuring that adjudicative tribunals in the province are transparent, accountable and efficient in their operations while preserving their decision-making independence. The statute presents an approach that the author has termed "collaborative governance" as it aims to bring the executive branch of government and the tribunals together in reaching effective and accountable means of internal governance. The author argues, however, that the approach taken by the statute does not address many of the contemporary concerns about accountability that are experienced by tribunals on the ground. She argues further that the legislation is inconsistent in its underlying commitment to the concept of accountability as it does not take into account the importance of accountability on the part of the executive to tribunals. Finally, the approach taken by the legislation must be channelled properly to avoid disintegrating from a collaborative governance approach to one of command and control.

Keywords: administrative law, accountability of administrative tribunals, Ontario (Canada), administrative independence, collaborative governance

JEL Classification: K

Suggested Citation

Jacobs, Laverne, A Wavering Commitment?: Administrative Independence and Collaborative Governance in Ontario’s Adjudicative Tribunals Accountability Legislation (May 17, 2010). Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 285-307, 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1612070

Laverne Jacobs (Contact Author)

University of Windsor - Faculty of Law ( email )

401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4 N9B 3P4
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/ljacobs

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law ( email )

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

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