Update on Reforms in Other Jurisdictions (as of June, 2009)
Some of the more significant administrative justice reforms initiated or undertaken in other jurisdictions between December 2008 and June 2009 are summarized below, including:
Listed below are some of the major reforms that are proposed or still underway, which you may want to keep your eye on, plus some great websites for ongoing reform information.
Canada:
United Kingdom:
Australia:
New Zealand:
United States:
Earlier updates on reforms in other jurisdictions are posted on this Publications and Research page.
Within Canada
Federal
An Act Respecting the Safety of Consumer Products (given third reading by the House of Commons, but still to go before the Senate) will create a new system to regulate consumer products that pose, or might reasonably be expected to pose, a danger to human health and safety. Of administrative law significance are the new power to order recalls of consumer products (the Hazardous Products Act currently provides only for voluntary recall) and a new administrative monetary penalty and compliance regime with broader inspection powers.
Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals (CCAT)
The Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals successfully marked its 25th anniversary at its annual conference The Modern Canadian Tribunal: 25 Years in the Making in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Further information about the conference presentations and workshops is available on the CCAT website.
Alberta
The Alberta Public Agencies Governance Act was enacted to promote transparency, accountability and good governance for Alberta's nearly 250 agencies, boards and commissions. The act, expected to be proclaimed into force in 2010, proposes to enhance the effectiveness of Alberta's agencies by:
- requiring competence-based recruitment and appointments and encouraging agencies to improve their effectiveness by providing orientation, evaluation and training of members;
- clarifying the relationships and accountabilities between government and agencies, including policy making and information sharing;
- requiring periodic reviews of all agencies, to ensure they are operating as effectively as possible; and
- ensuring the public knows what steps are being taken to promote agency effectiveness, both through legislating these principles and requiring information about agencies to be made publicly available.
More information about the act is available on the Alberta Agency Governance Secretariat website.
The Alberta Law Reform Institute issued a final report proposing new Rules of Court. Implementation of the new rules was scheduled for January 2010. The institute also published a report on Enforcement of Judgments, which recommends the adoption of three statutes (based on the work of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada) that would create a legislative regime providing greater certainty for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
Ontario
In continuation of its tribunal clustering initiative, Ontario is looking to appoint a new executive chair of the Environmental and Land Planning Tribunals, to be responsible as chair of the five tribunals being brought together: the Ontario Municipal Board, Assessment Review Board, Environmental Review Tribunal, Board of Negotiation and Conservation Review Board. The recruitment process is expected to be completed over the summer.
The Law Commission of Ontario has undertaken a project to research and improve family law dispute resolution, called: Best Practices at Family Justice System Entry Points: Users' Needs and Workers' Responses in the Justice System. The recommendations from the project will aim to create more efficient and accessible services for family law matters. The project is to be completed by November 2010.
Quebec
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General announced a pilot project to create three community justice centres by the end of 2009. The centres will offer citizens a single access point for referral, consultation and information services, with the specific priorities, resources and needs to be identified by the communities to be served.
Nova Scotia
The deputy minister of justice, speaking at the opening ceremonies of the CCAT conference (mentioned above), indicated Nova Scotia is interested in starting a project to examine possible administrative justice reforms.
The new Nova Scotia Civil Procedure Rules came into effect Jan. 1, 2009, to address concerns about delays, costs and undue complexity of court proceedings.
A research report was submitted to the Nova Scotia Law Reform Commission on the Evaluation of the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court in March 2009. The report evaluates the effectiveness of the small claims court in providing quick, informal and affordable access to justice.
New Brunswick
Government announced a pilot project to implement recommendations made respecting the family division of the Court of Queen's Bench by the Access to Family Justice Task Force. The project will look to create new court processes to help families resolve disputes in a more positive and productive fashion, as well as reduce the adversarial nature of proceedings by placing dispute resolution resources at the front end.
Outside Canada
Australia
The Australia Law Reform Commission is reviewing the operation and provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902. The commission will be examining, among other things, whether royal commissions have sufficient powers to operate effectively and whether the rights of participants are appropriately protected. It will also consider if there is a need for other less formal and more cost-effective forms of inquiries. See the Review of the Royal Commission Act: Inquiry Snapshot and the issues paper: Review of the Royal Commissions Act.
Queensland, Australia
Government is continuing work to establish its new Civil and Administrative Tribunal that will amalgamate a number of existing bodies and tribunals with the intent to increase access to justice and the efficiency and quality of decision-making. Draft legislation to implement the new tribunal was released for public consultation in February and a bill introduced in parliament in May. The government website did not indicate the current status of the bill, but the tribunal is expected to be fully operational by December 2009.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Law Commission released an issues paper on Invasion of Privacy: Penalties and Remedies, reviewing the adequacy of New Zealand's civil, criminal and regulatory law to deal with invasions of privacy and, in particular, considers the tort of privacy and surveillance.
United Kingdom
The Tribunals Service announced a new dispute resolution framework for the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004. The new framework will provide a simplified system, making things easier for potential tribunal users.
Other reforms at the Tribunals Service also continue, with various new chambers created: new Upper ribunal chamber and First-tier Tribunal chamber for tax appeals to bring together the four existing tax tribunals (April 2009); a new lands chamber in the Upper Tribunal (June 2009) and a new general regulatory chamber, bringing together tribunals that hear appeals on regulatory issues (expected September 2009). See the April 2009 news release on this and other ongoing Tribunals Service work.
A research report entitled Access to Justice: a review of existing evidence of the experiences of minority groups based on ethnicity, identity and sexuality was provided to the Ministry of Justice. The report addresses evidence on access to justice for black and visible minority groups, gypsies, travellers, refugees, asylum seekers and minority groups as identified by their sexuality.
