Workshop:

The Nature of Inquisitorial Processes in Administrative Regimes: Global Perspectives

May 26 & 27, 2011

University of Windsor, Faculty of Law

Windsor, Ontario

Canada

Please Note: While this workshop is by invitation only, we do invite the public to attend a related public lecture on Commissions of Inquiry, which will be given by Justice Stephen Goudge and Hon. Thomas Braidwood on May 26, 2011, 3-4:15pm in the Law Faculty Moot Court.

This global research workshop will examine the impact of integrating inquisitorial and adversarial models within one specific legal context: the administrative state.    

The inquisitorial process originates in the Civil Law tradition. In some jurisdictions, including Canada and Australia, the dominance of the adversarial system in the administrative state has been enhanced by procedures that involve more active participation by decision-makers themselves.  Called “activist adjudication”, an "inquiry decision-making model", “investigatory process” and various similar terms, these approaches show a dynamic embrace of inquisitorial sensibilities. The inverse is also true -- adversarial processes have been brought in by policy makers in a number of jurisdictions to enhance traditional inquisitorial decision-making. While the existence of multi-traditional decision-making is not new, one has seen a global emergence of this polyjural approach to administrative decision-making in recent years.

What tensions arise when elements of different legal traditions are integrated within administrative decision-making? What impact can a mixture of more than one type of process have on issues such as the efficient use of public resources, access to justice and the attainment of just outcomes? What lessons, if any, can be shared across jurisdictions?

By bringing together experts from around the globe, the workshop will explore these questions  as well as broader themes such as:  the use of inquisitorial or quasi-inquisitorial processes in immigration and refugee/asylum determinations across various jurisdictions; the adaptation of inquisitorial or quasi-inquisitorial processes in traditional adversarial administrative contexts generally; the adaptation of adversarial procedures within traditional inquisitorial administrative contexts; the use and effectiveness of purely or predominantly inquisitorial or investigative bodies within the administrative state (eg. Ombudsman, specialized ombudsman, parliamentary or legislative officers); public inquiries/commissions of inquiry; and comparative and transnational perspectives to polyjural decision-making in the realm of administrative law.

The conference has been organized as an international research workshop in which scholars and other experts will discuss developments in their jurisdictions. In addition, there will be panels focused on areas in which inquiry powers are particularly prevalent in the administrative state -- including asylum matters, public inquiries and the work of legislative officers. Approximately 20 individuals representing 6 different jurisdictions will be attending.  Our hope is that, in this intimate setting, our participants will have an opportunity to engage intensely with the nature of polyjural decision-making and its implications for issues of access to justice, the attainment of just outcomes and the efficient use of state resources within the administrative state.
 

For more information, please feel free to contact the organizers at:  
inquisitorial@uwindsor.ca.

Conference organizers: