Administrative justice is the opportunity – or in some cases, the requirement – to have disputes resolved or rights determined by a specialized body instead of the court.

Administrative justice is about achieving fairness in public administration that:

• is often defined as justice dispensed by administrative or quasi-judicial tribunals
• is about ensuring right behaviour in public administration and
• incorporates ideas of procedural and substantive fairness.

These are two definitions of what is commonly understood as “fairness”: 

• To be fair is to be “marked by impartiality and honesty" and to be “free from self-interest, prejudice or favouritism” – from Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary
• To be fair is to “treat someone in a way that is right or reasonable,” or to treat “a group of people equally and not allow personal opinions to influence your judgment” – from Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Online Dictionary.

Note that fairness has at least two parts…fair decisions are made in concert with fair process.

Two important key elements of administrative fairness are that:

• there be an unbiased decision maker and 
  
• a person has the right to know the case against him or her.

The BC Ombudsman fairness checklist is available online with further information.