Internal Appellate Review: the Role of the New Refugee Appeal Division

I made a presentation last week to the members of the new Refugee Appeal Division and their legal advisers. The RAD hears appeals from the Refugee Protection Division: most of the relevant statutory provisions are contained in Part IV of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

One of the questions the members of the RAD have been asking themselves in their decisions to date is whether they should be deferential to findings made by the RPD. My presentation focused on this. My answer was a heavily qualified yes: the RAD should show some deference to the RPD, but it should not apply rigidly tests developed for review by courts of administrative decisions.