ABSTRACT
Many administrators feel that their traditional authority and decision-making autonomy has been replaced by legal-bureaucratic authority. Legal authority is based on enacted laws that can be changed by formally correct procedures. Legal authority thus extends only within the scope of the authority vested in the office by law. In a school obedience is owed to the impersonal principles that govern the operation of the organization. Legal rights provisions in the Charter undoubtedly change the traditional role of school principals, and teachers. A number of cases relating to legal rights and administrative practices have been challenged under the Charter. Many legal rights cases within the educational context involve the right to life, liberty and security of the person under section 7. The plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, discrimination and the violation of legal rights. The court instructed the appellants that theirs is a narrow legal function aimed at considering the legality, or lack thereof, of the Minister’s actions.
