Administrative tribunals, along with the courts, have the mandate to make decisions about rights. Tribunals’ decisions have legal consequences— just like those of the courts—and therefore we have to observe procedural fairness in all our deliberations. Judith McCormack summarizes it neatly in her article, “Nimble Justice”:
Tribunal processes should be fast, fair, accessible and responsive to the needs of the parties, and…tribunal jurisprudence should be original, vigorous and continually evolving.4
Tribunals have many opportunities to tell clients about the process they will go through and to explain everything simply and clearly. We must make tribunal processes and materials as understandable as possible to all those with low literacy skills. The ways we communicate include the following:
However, there will be cases where tribunals cannot help a client understand the process. We should then refer the client to appropriate literacy services.
4. Judith McCormack, “Nimble Justice: Revitalizing Administrative Tribunals in a Climate of Rapid Change,” Saskatchewan Law Review 59 (1995): p. 385. Return