Waiver of Natural Justice

The hearing rule and the rule against bias comprise the twin pillars of natural justice. There is a detailed body of case law about waiver of the bias rule but little about waiver of the hearing rule. This article examines the few cases dealing with waiver of the hearing rule. Attention is given to two decisions of intermediate courts – one from the Victorian Court of Appeal, the other from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales – which have examined waiver of natural justice in some detail. The article argues that waiver of the hearing rule should be possible because it can be sensible and consistent with the key rationales of natural justice.