Questions and Answers: Procedural Fairness

In Barreau du Québec c. Khan, 2011 QCCA 792, the Québec Court of Appeal held that a student who failed a bar exam was entitled to look over her exam, answer booklet, answer key and correction grid and to take notes while doing so.

With its decision in Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec c. Ngoya Tupemunyi, 2013 QCCA 134, the Court has gone even further. The issue was whether procedural fairness required the disclosure of an exam and answer key to allow the individual concerned to properly respond to the recommendations of disciplinary inquiry.

Procedural Fairness in Extradition

The Supreme Court of Canada decided two interesting terrorism cases last Friday. R. v. Khawaja, 2012 SCC 69 has been grabbing most of the headlines because the Court upheld (though narrowly defined) anti-terrorism offences enacted shortly after 9/11. There were constitutional issues in the companion case of Sriskandarajah v. United States of America, 2012 SCC 70 as well, because the Court was asked to overrule one of its extradition precedents, Cotroni.

I want to focus, though, on the administrative law challenges addressed in Sriskandarajah. In particular, I want to question the Court's conclusion that there had been no breach of the appellants' rights to procedural fairness.

Jurisdictional Error, Procedural Fairness and Advocacy by Tribunals

There is much to say about Samatar c. Canada (Procureur général), 2012 CF 1263, a case involving an apparent jurisdictional error, a flagrant breach of procedural fairness, and over-zealous advocacy on the part of an arm of the state.