On April 27, 2020, a group of public sector lawyers and attendees tuned in to hear Professor Christopher Hodges speak about changing approaches to regulation in the modern world. The event was co-chaired by Robin Bates (Ontario Ombudsman) and Michael Rothe (Canadian Finance and Leasing Association).
Christopher Hodges is Professor of Justice Systems and Head of the Swiss Re Research Programme on Civil Justice Systems at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford; a Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford; and a Fellow of the European Law Institute. He is a leading expert in regulatory, enforcement and dispute resolution systems and advises many governments and businesses across the world. Recent books include Regulatory Delivery (with Graham Russell, 2019); Delivering Dispute Resolution, a Holistic Review of Models in England & Wales (2019); Ethical Business Practice and Regulation (with Ruth Steinholtz); and Consumer ADR in Europe (with Iris Benöhr & Naomi Creutzfeldt, 2012),
Professor Hodges began by setting out three regulatory myths foundational to the traditional approach: i) the belief in universal regulatory activity; ii) the sense that deterrence drives behavioural change; and iii) the hope that ‘inspecting’ delivers results. Professor Hodges explained that these myths have been proven incorrect by behavioural psychologist and empirical studies across various contexts and industries. Nonetheless, they had traditionally led to a deterrence and inspection-based approach to regulation.
In place of this traditional paradigm, Professor Hodges advocated for a risk-based regulatory system that focused on creating a no-blame, “just culture” of accountability and regulation. Under this model, participants are not punished for reporting errors and mistakes. Rather, these events are used as opportunities to improve the systems and procedures that failed to prevent the error in the first place. Professor Hodges said that this approach has been highly successful in the aviation and medical context, where increased reporting of incidents and near misses has undoubtedly saved life through systemic changes.
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