Abstract

The idea of a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal, or specialized court, empowered to make binding decisions on the validity of aboriginal specific claims and awards without limit dates back to the mid-1940's in Canada. Over time, the consensus about the need for an independent and binding adjudicatory body has strengthened and the vision of an independent claims body has evolved into a hybrid model that would involve both a facilitative commission with a full range of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) tools to assist negotiations, and a powerful adjudicatory tribunal to make binding decisions when negotiations fail. A consensus has also grown around the idea that aboriginal people should be involved in specific claims policy-making and process design, and be represented on any new independent claims body. This multi-disciplinary study, employing a historical comparative research methodology, attempts to trace the evolution of this concept over time, and document the history of efforts to date to establish such an independent claims body in Canada. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)