Student Judicial Affairs Conference

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Student Judicial Affairs Conference

• Student Discipline How to Prepare Written
  Reasons

Katrina Haymond March 24, 2006
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Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that
administrative decision makers must provide
written reasons

• Baker v. Canada (1999)
• Law Society of New Brunswick v. Ryan (2003)

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Are written reasons required for decision made
with respect to student discipline?

• Requirement for reasons may be established in
  Code of Conduct
• Even if no express requirement, reasons are now a
  common law requirement

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Public policy reasons for requiring reasons

• Fairness to individual affected by proceedings
• Builds confidence in process
• Creates guidelines for other cases
• Protects decision from being overturned on review
  or appeal (e.g. Mpega v. Universite de Moncton)

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What happens if adequate reasons are not provided?

• Handout Case from 1976 Leads to Teachers
  Suspension

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Good reasons arise from an effective decision
making process

• Dont jump to conclusions
• Listen to evidence
• Identify key issues
• Review specific allegations
• Examine specific allegation to determine if there
  are sufficient facts to prove the allegation

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Finding the facts

• Have any of the facts been admitted?
• Identify which facts are in dispute
• What is the evidence concerning the factual
  disputes?

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Decision making process

• Determine whether the allegation is factually
  proven
• If the allegation is true, does it constitute a
  breach of the Code of Conduct?

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Decision maker should only begin to write reasons
after engaging in decision-making process
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What elements should be included in a written
decision?

• Review significant evidence
• Make any findings of fact that are important
• If credibility is an issue, need to make a
  specific finding with respect to credibility
• Address the substantial arguments raised by the
  parties
• Disclose the reasoning process engaged in

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Structure for written reasons

• No magic formula - many different styles will be
  acceptable

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Example of suggested format

• Introduction - who, what, where
• Allegations - be specific
• Preliminary matters - reasons should outline any
  issues raised by parties, i.e. request for an
  adjournment, conflict of interest, etc.
• Evidence - review key evidence
• Submissions - briefly review any submissions made
  by the parties
• Findings - analyze evidence
• Penalty - identify penalty that will be imposed

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Hypothetical Scenario