Selection bias in human rights tribunals: an exploratory study

Abstract: Quasi-judicial tribunals are bound by the principle of natural justice, including the obligation to avoid bias or the apprehension of bias in the selection of adjudicators, as was affirmed for human rights commissions in the McBain case. This paper statistically analyses all decisions rendered by Canadian human rights tribunals, both federal and provincial, in the years 1956 to 1984. The main conclusion is that there is a tendency toward the reappointment of adjudicators whose decisions are favourable to complainants. This calls into question the neutrality of the appointment procedures used in these years, namely appointment by a minister or by a human rights commission. The system recently adopted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, involving appointment by the chairman of a panel of adjudicators, is proposed as a model worthy of imitation to the extent that it minimizes the apprehension of bias. Sommaire: Les tribunaux quasi-judiciaires sont tenus d'appliquer le principe de la justice naturelle, y compris l'obligation d'éviter de soulever une crainte raisonnable de partialité lors du choix des arbitres, comme l'arrêt McBain l'a affirmé en ce qui concerne les commissions des droits de la personne. Cet article comporte une analyse statistique de toutes les décisions prises par les tribunaux canadiens des droits de la personne, tant provinciaux que fédéraux entre 1956 et 1984. Il conclut qu'on a eu tendance à renouveler le mandat des arbitres dont les décisions étaient favorables aux plaignants. Cette conclusion interpelle la neutralité du système de nomination en vigueur durant cette période, en particulier lorsque c'était un ministre ou une commission des droits de la personne qui nommait les arbitres. Le système, récemment adopté par la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne, en vertu duquel c'est le président d'un tribunal d'arbitres qui noninie chaque comité d'arbitre, est proposé comme modèle digne d'être imité dam la mesure où il réduit la crainte raisonnable de partialité.     

National Competition Policy,Regulatory Reform & Australian Federalism*

Changes are afoot in Australia's federal arrangements concerning competition policy. While many of the proposals to enlarge the Commonwealth's sphere of influence are played out in the media, other shifts are more subtle. This article examines one of those areas of change. It looks at National Competition Policy and in particular, its regulatory reform components. It argues that the approach adopted in the 1995 agreement, which was characterised by broad principles, meticulous monitoring and substantial financial carrots, has provided the Commonwealth with a useful tool for effectively intervening in areas that have been until now, matters of state responsibility.     

Teaching public management: the case for (and against) cases

This article calls for an increased and more rigorous use of the case method in public administration education. Cases yield generalizations, cases help students take ownership of knowledge, and cases can further repetition of behavioral characteristics important to students such as empathy and self-confidence.

The gradual expansion of public policy training into the area of public management has brought with it a marked increase in the use of cases and case teaching. Executive training programs, an ever more common feature of publicpolicy schools, rely even more heavily on case. Despite their prevalence and popularity, cases and case teaching have come in for considerable criticism. Social scientists in particular fault them for being atheoretical and, hence, lacking in intellectual rigor. Contemporary cases are also faulted for implicitly endorsing an “activist” or “heroic” view of public management. Whereas cases from the 1940s and 1950s portrayed a functional view of public managers, recent cases portray managers as people who actively shape their legal mandates and use administrative systems to promote political objectives--a questionable image to convey to students training for public service.⁽¹⁾

The first half of the paper describes in some detail a seminar, “Ethics and Public Management,” conducted at the Kennedy School by Mark Moore, Mark Lilla, and the author.     

Regional collective security in Europe: Past patterns and future prospects

NATO's entry into the Balkan war raised salient questions about the alliance's broader mission and, more generally, about Europe's security architecture. This article confronts these questions by revisiting the debate about collective defense versus collective security as organizing principles for alliances. NATO is viewed as serving a hybrid role of promoting collective defense and regional collective security. This latter, under‐valued function relates to NATO's role in promoting internal cohesion among its members and is crucial to understanding the alliance's evolution and its persistance long after the Cold War.     

The Analysis of Gun‐Cleaning Oil as Long‐Distance Gunshot Residue and Its Implications for Chemical Tags on Bullets

Using a BB gun, it was shown that a gun‐cleaning oil (GCO) can be wiped from the barrel by a projectile and carried much longer distances than those usually associated with solid gunshot residue (GSR). Analysis of GCO subsequently deposited on a target was performed using pentane extraction and gas chromatography. (Hoppe's GCO was used here as a model.) When a 0.45 caliber handgun was used, analysis reveals that most of the GCO wiped from the barrel does not survive, owing to the elevated temperatures encountered. However, two components of the GCO, a long‐chain fatty acid and its ethyl ester, do survive and can be detected in the bullet wipe. This suggests that GCO may be considered as GSR, uniquely detectable at long distances, and that other chemical compounds could either be added to a GCO or directly to bullets, to serve as identifying chemical tags.