Diversity on Adjudicative Administrative Tribunals: An Integrative Conception

• Main Author: Nishikawa, Sandra
• Other Authors: Macklin, Audrey
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: diversity; administrative tribunals; 0398
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/18937

This thesis applies arguments for greater diversity, and more specifically, racial diversity, on the judiciary to administrative tribunals with an adjudicative function. I draw from both formal arguments, such as institutional legitimacy, and substantive arguments, such as the different perspectives that diversity would provide, to propose an integrative conception of diversity. By relying upon concepts such as structural impartiality, I argue that an integrative conception of diversity more fully reveals the transformative potential of diversity in legal decision-making. This integrative conception is particularly well-suited to the administrative context because it demonstrates how diversity will enhance the values of participation and justification, which are instrumental to the principle of fairness. Through interviews with adjudicators and legal clinic lawyers, I offer a preliminary view of the potential impact that diverse administrative adjudicators could have in practice. Finally, this thesis offers recommendations on how this potential could be further realized.