The prestigious Advanced Diploma in Quasi-Judicial Decision-Making course at Ireland’s renowned law school returns in autumn 2022. Imparting the law and skills that decision-makers require to hear cases and deliver robust decisions in myriad contexts, the course has proved to be a stimulating and practical hotbed of learning, reflection and networking.
“The task of a quasi-judicial decision-maker is extremely challenging,” says Tricia Sheehy Skeffington BL, the designer and coordinator of the course. “In some cases, decision-makers should be administering justice at a standard equivalent to that found in the courts; others can oversee a less formal hearing, but in all cases, it requires due process. What that means, and how and when procedural flexibility should adapt to the parties’ needs is key to ultimately weaving the most appropriate route to the justice of any given case.”
Sheehy Skeffington points out that whether working with complex employment issues, social welfare appeals, sports or tenancy disputes, decision-makers are variously told they should be court-like, but they are not courts. As a result, parties may or may not be legally represented; interpreters may be required, emotions may run high and (often complex) legal issues are determined.
Decision-makers must have finely tuned skills to manage procedural fairness in fluid, fast-moving situations. “It is significant and weighty work which may impact people’s rights, obligations, livelihoods, homes, income or opportunities. So the decision-maker needs to act with confidence, competence and integrity,” says Sheehy Skeffington.
The skills required for deft handling of process interweave the five separate teaching strands of the course. Experts – including senior judges, chairs of quasi-judicial bodies, legal practitioners and academics – give lectures on core topics. A comprehensive course manual provides the structural backbone of the course content. The course delivery is over six weekends, and participants work through exercises in small, tutored groups to develop skills and generate discussion on the practical management of the process.
Online learning exercises and resources supplement all course content. Finally, three assessments consolidate knowledge and underpin the rigour of the Advanced Diploma ultimately awarded to participants.
The diversity of its participants boosts the course’s vitality. Past students are in management and decision-making positions in all the major dispute resolution bodies. These span the adjudicative forums of, for example, the Labour Court, the Residential Tenancies Board and Mental Health Tribunals to the regulators (professional, consumer and financial). The course also boasts a recent judicial appointment among its alumni.
A recent graduate of the course calls it “simply an essential course for those practising in the area of quasi-judicial decision–making or have the desire to understand the essential role such bodies play in everyday life of citizens seeking fair process and natural justice in the pursuance of disputes directly impacting on their lives”.
The cross-pollination of experience and ideas when colleagues set about solving a due process problem is invaluable
Sheehy Skeffington acknowledges that participants are the “secret sauce” of the course. “Whether the topic is vulnerable or challenging witnesses, managing process around interpreters, whether or not to grant adjournments, ethical considerations or the potential influence of unconscious bias, some of the most interesting questions, examples and strategies come from the group. The cross-pollination of experience and ideas when colleagues set about solving a due process problem is invaluable.”
The collaborative learning of practitioners – most of whom have had some professional engagement with a quasi-judicial body – ensures that even when discussing high-level principles, practical considerations remain in view.
As well as being the course designer and lead lecturer for this course, Sheehy Skeffington is a member of King’s Inns and a barrister based at The Bar of Ireland. An accredited mediator, she is an experienced decision-maker, having sat on Tenancy Tribunals, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal and Mental Health Tribunals among others. Her practice at the Bar spans administrative law, landlord and tenant, intellectual property and environmental law.
The course blends online lectures and tutorials with some in-person engagements. In addition, many of the lectures are available to watch again through the Virtual Learning Environment at King’s Inns. Participants can also keep the conversation going via supplemental forums and online exercises, which maintain a thread of continuity between the one-weekend-a-month delivery format.
As King’s Inns is built on networking and engagement, students are invited to attend and participate in various social events, fireside chats and talks. Events take place either online or in-person. All this contributes to the learning experience that is King’s Inns.
The next course runs from October 2022 to May 2023. Due to the intensive and interactive nature of the course, the number of participants accepted is limited. Interested participants are advised to apply early to avoid disappointment.
The application deadline for the course is midnight on Sunday, September 25th, 2022. To view the class schedule and list of expert speakers for this course and also apply for this diploma, visit www.kingsinns.ie/education.
About King’s Inns
Based between Henrietta Street and Constitution Hill in Dublin 1, King’s Inns is an independent educational institution renowned for professional legal education and training. It is Ireland’s oldest school of law and one of Ireland’s significant historical environments.
As well as educating future and qualified barristers, the school extends its reach to a diverse community from legal and non–legal backgrounds offering accessible part-time courses in specialist areas of the law.
With courses taught by expert law practitioners, King’s Inns students include leaders, advocates, innovators and game-changers from industries across Ireland and abroad. The school excels in promoting the use of the Irish language in the law.
For more information, please visit kingsinns.ie