Directions for Future Research on Administrative Justice

Abstract

Administrative justice is central to peoples’ relationship with government. As the current volume illustrates, this field is attracting diverse work using a range of methods across jurisdictions. After considering the breadth of research, from basic or discovery research to applied research, the article focuses on the UK context, where the administrative justice landscape is marked by complexity and fragmentation, to consider key research challenges. While stressing the value of diversity, the article argues for the need to adopt a more proactive and coordinated approach to research that enables greater collaboration and dialogue between independent researchers and government, policymakers, the professions, other users of research, and funders. As well as building research into system design and evaluation, such an approach will help overcome practical obstacles facing researchers and enable priority research needs to be identified and met without being dominated by government’s policy agenda. The article argues that these priority needs include work on: improving the availability of information on how administrative justice systems operate; the use of new technologies including AI; and on how people engage (or fail to engage) with, and are affected by, administrative justice. The article concludes by suggesting questions drawn from the UK experience that may be of relevance across other jurisdictions.