Different Tribunal Processes Used to Resolve Disputes
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This page provides a series of questions and answers about the administrative justice system and how tribunals, that are part of that system, conduct their work.  To view the answers to these questions, you can use the highlighted questions as electronic links.

What are the steps (or “processes”) administrative tribunals take to resolve disputes and/or determine claims for rights or benefits?
Why does each tribunal have its own processes? Why aren’t all tribunals the same?

• What are the steps (or “processes”) administrative tribunals take to resolve disputes and/or determine claims for rights or benefits?
  Tribunals’ processes are intended to help resolve disputes and/or determine claims for rights and benefits fairly, using the parties’ and the tribunal’s time and efforts most effectively. Each tribunal will set its own specific steps or processes, with most tribunals using some or all of the following steps:
  • preliminary reviews – this step is intended to make sure the dispute or the claim for rights or benefits is made at the right tribunal, and that any pre-conditions or applicable time limits have been met. Preliminary reviews are usually done by senior tribunal staff or a tribunal member reviewing the documents that have been filed and may also involve follow-up telephone calls or letters from the tribunal.
  • case management – a variety of case management steps may be used to make sure each person involved knows what the other people involved say about the matters in dispute, and that every person who is involved has all the information they need to understand and respond to the other people. These steps are often used in conjunction with mediation and/or settlement conferences (described below) to see if the parties can resolve their differences without a hearing. They also help to ensure that if a hearing is needed, the hearing will proceed in an orderly way and all the information necessary for the tribunal to consider the matter will be available in a timely and orderly way. Case management steps may be directed by senior tribunal staff or a tribunal member, and are often done by telephone conference calls with all the people involved participating.
  • mediation or settlement conferences – tribunals use these steps to assist parties to resolve the dispute or claim by arriving at a mutually acceptable solution, without the stress or cost of a hearing. This is often the most satisfactory outcome for all involved. Almost always done in person, mediation and settlement conferences are usually conducted by a single tribunal member, with all the people involved in the dispute or claim participating.
  • hearings – where a dispute or claim cannot be resolved through mutual agreement using case management, mediation or settlement conference, the tribunal may hold a hearing and make a decision. The hearing may be in-person or based on written submissions, and may be conducted by a single tribunal member or, if complicated or the legislation requires it, a panel of three tribunal members. Tribunal decisions made after a hearing usually result in one person “winning” and the other person “losing”, similar to decisions made by the courts.
    More detail on each of these processes is set out at “The Hearing”
• Why does each tribunal have its own processes? Why aren’t all tribunals the same?
  Unlike the courts which have general authority over a wide variety of legal matters, each tribunal has authority to resolve only a very specific type of dispute or determine specific types of rights or benefits. Because the types of disputes or claims each tribunal resolves are quite different from each other, processes specific to those types of decisions can be necessary and/or more effective. However, most tribunals processes have some similarities, and all tribunals’ processes are intended to help resolve the specific type of dispute or claim fairly, using the parties’ and the tribunal’s time and efforts effectively.

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