Natural justice

Natural justice is a legal principle requiring fair procedures when decisions affect people’s rights or interests. Its core requirements are an impartial decision-maker and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

Audi alteram partem: The rule that each side in a dispute must have a fair opportunity to present its case. This is natural justice’s hearing requirement: affected people must be able to answer adverse claims.
Notice of allegations: Formal communication of the case or concerns a person must answer in a proceeding. A hearing is not meaningful unless the affected person knows the substance of the case.
Judicial review: Court supervision of the legality of decisions made by public bodies and other authorized decision-makers. A court may set aside a decision reached in breach of natural justice.
Substantive due process: A constitutional doctrine that limits government interference with certain rights regardless of procedure. Natural justice addresses fairness of procedure, not the independent justification of a decision’s substance.
Nemo iudex in causa sua: The rule that no one should judge a matter in which they have a personal interest. This maxim expresses natural justice’s demand for an impartial decision-maker.
Disclosure: The provision of relevant information or evidence to parties in a legal or administrative process. Access to material relied upon lets a person prepare an effective response.
Administrative tribunal: A body outside the ordinary court system that decides disputes or administers statutory schemes. Tribunals must use fair procedures when determining people’s rights or interests.
Due process: A legal guarantee of fair treatment by government, including procedural protections and, in some systems, substantive limits. This broader doctrine overlaps with natural justice but varies across legal systems.
Procedural fairness: The legal requirement that decision-making procedures be fair in the circumstances. Natural justice is a foundational form of procedural fairness.
Oral hearing: A proceeding in which parties present information and arguments verbally before a decision-maker. Natural justice may require oral submissions when written procedures cannot fairly resolve the matter.

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