What happens at the Appeal Hearing

Electronic Hearings are the default method for hearings before SBSA tribunals. Zoom is the online platform that the SBSA uses for conducting electronic hearings.

Hearings are usually scheduled for a half-day (4 hours) or a full-day (8 hours). Some hearings may require multiple dates.

Hearing Participants

The “parties” to an appeal are the Appellant and the Respondent.

Appellant

The Appellant is the student who has filed the appeal.

Respondent

The Respondent is the person responding to the appeal of their decision.

The Tribunal

The Tribunal is selected from the members of the Senate Board for Student Appeals. The Tribunal will have two faculty members (one of whom shall be the Tribunal Chair) and one student member.

University Secretariat

A member of the University Secretariat attends the hearing to provide administrative support to the Tribunal.

Legal Counsel or Advisor

The parties may be accompanied by Legal Counsel or and Advisor.

Order of the Hearing

The tribunal may alter the order of the hearing in the interest of fairness to any, or all, of the parties. However, hearings generally proceed as set out below.

Tribunal’s introductory remarks

The hearing process generally starts off with introductory remarks by the tribunal. At the outset of the hearing, the Tribunal Chair will:

introduce the tribunal and request all parties to state their names for the record.
determine whether the hearing shall be open or closed.
note for the record the documentary information submitted by the parties at the hearing.
note the names of the witnesses for each party.
if necessary, determine the likely dates for sitting and the projected length of the hearing.
raise, or request the parties to raise any and all preliminary issues concerning jurisdiction, the composition of the tribunal and any other procedural matters.
proceed to deal with any of these matters before the commencement of the substantive portion of the hearing, by either proceeding directly to the hearing or considering and rendering a decision on the preliminary matters raised.
review the order of the hearing.

Appellant’s Case

Appellant’s opening statement, which should include a brief description of their case, their main arguments, and what remedy they seek.

Appellant’s oral testimony, and documentary evidence in support of this testimony:

cross-examination by the Respondent; and
the Tribunal may ask questions

Appellant’s witnesses:

oral testimony of witness #1;
cross-examination of witness #1 by the Respondent;
the Tribunal may ask questions of witness #1; and
this process is repeated for each subsequent witness.

Respondent’s Case

Respondent’s opening statement, which should include a brief description of their case, their main arguments regarding the decision being appealed and what outcome they seek.

Respondent’s oral testimony, and documentary evidence in support of this testimony:

cross-examination by the Appellant; and
the Tribunal may ask questions.

Respondent’s witnesses:

oral testimony of witness #1;
cross-examination of witness #1 by the Appellant;
the Tribunal may ask questions of witness #1; and
this process is repeated for each subsequent witness.

Appellant’s Reply

The Appellant may offer testimony and further question their witnesses, but only in reply to the issues raised in the Respondent’s case.

After the Appellant’s reply, no new evidence or witnesses may be introduced.

Closing Arguments

Appellant
Respondent
Appellant (in reply)