Mark Mancini
-
Some Major Questions About Major Questions
In West Virginia v EPA, the Supreme Court of the United States, wielding the “major questions doctrine” found that the EPA did not have the statutory authority to adopt regulations implementing the Clean Power Plan, initially proposed by the Obama administration in 2015. In this post, I describe why I think this decision was ultimately… Continue reading
-
Immigration and Refugee Decision-Making: The Vavilov Effect?
It has been a while since I’ve blogged. The last few months have been—in a word—chaotic. I’m hoping to blog more regularly going forward now that some of these things have settled One of the areas where administrative law really comes to life is in immigration decision-making, particularly front-line decision-making like visa decisions or humanitarian… Continue reading
-
Same Pig, Different Lipstick: Bill C-11
Last year, I wrote about Bill C-10, which was concerned with “compelling companies like Netflix Inc and TikTok Inc to finance and promote Canadian content.” The Bill was controversial, not least because the law could be read to target content produced on user-driven sites (TikTok, say) targeting individual content creators rather than the tech giants… Continue reading
-
Boilerplate in Decision-Making
Administrative boilerplate is probably legion in government, but of course, this is an empirical question. Nonetheless, I have read enough cases to know that individuals at the foot of administrative power—many times in front-line decision-making— are at least sometimes faced with deciphering reasons that purport to have “considered all the factors.” Confronted, as well, with… Continue reading
-
Jurisdiction and the Post-Vavilov Supreme Court: Part I
What does “jurisdiction” mean, anyways? Continue reading
-
Rethinking Peace, Order, and Good Government in the Canadian Constitution
This post is written by Brian Bird. The United States has life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. France has liberté, égalité, fraternité. What is the calling card of the Canadian Constitution? It is peace, order and good government. Apart from being a concise expression of the political philosophy that animates Canadian society, or at… Continue reading
-
What Does City of Toronto Mean For Administrative Law?
The Supreme Court released its much-anticipated decision today in Toronto (City) v Ontario (Attorney General), 2021 SCC 34. While others will address the nuances of the case, the majority generally puts unwritten constitutional principles into a tiny, little box. It says that because “[u]nwritten principles are…part of the law of our Constitution…” [50], unwritten principles… Continue reading
-
On Law and Music
What is the relationship, if any, between law and music? As a musician myself, I notice many commonalities between law and music. As a jazz musician, improvisation is what I spend a lot of time thinking about. To improvise over a tune, it helps to know the notes in the tune, the chords underneath it,… Continue reading
-
Does This Kat(z) Have Nine Lives?
In Katz, the Supreme Court set out the approach to judicial review of regulations. The Katz approach is (or, maybe, was) a carve-out from the general law of judicial review. As Professor Daly notes, it grants a “hyperdeferential” margin of appreciation to those that promulgate regulations. The Katz approach, based on previous cases, simply asked… Continue reading
-
The Supreme Court’s Leaves (Or Lack Thereof)
The Supreme Court has gone yet another week without granting leave to any cases. I am not an empiricist, and this is not something I’ve been tracking, but I gather that the Supreme Court has granted leave to less cases over time in general (not to suggest that this week is particularly representative of anything).… Continue reading
Double Aspect 