The Role of Counsel in Canada's Refugee Determination System: An Empirical Assessment

Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Vol. 49, p. 71, 2011

46 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2011 Last revised: 24 Nov 2011

See all articles by Sean Rehaag

Sean Rehaag

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Date Written: November 23, 2011

Abstract

This article examines the role of counsel in Canada’s refugee determination process through an empirical analysis of the relation between counsel and outcomes in over 70,000 refugee claims decided by the Immigration and Refugee Board from 2005-2009.

The article demonstrates that competent counsel is a key factor driving successful outcomes in refugee claims. The article also shows that provincial legal aid programs are increasingly restrictive in funding legal representation for refugee claimants who cannot afford counsel. Taken together, the article argues that the increasing restrictions on legal aid put the lives of refugees at risk.

The article also demonstrates that refugee claimants represented by immigration consultants are less likely to succeed than refugee claimants represented by lawyers. As a result, and in light of evidence that the immigration consulting industry has not established adequate procedures to ensure that consultants adhere to standards of professional conduct, the paper contends that immigration consultants should not be authorized to provide unsupervised representation in Canada’s refugee determination system.

In short, the paper argues that counsel play an important role in the refugee determination process. Accordingly, measures should be taken to ensure that refugee claimants can access competent counsel, while simultaneously ensuring that unqualified counsel do not play a role in life and death refugee decision-making.

Keywords: Refugees, Canada, Legal Aid, Lawyers, Immigration Consultants, Empirical

Suggested Citation

Rehaag, Sean, The Role of Counsel in Canada's Refugee Determination System: An Empirical Assessment (November 23, 2011). Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Vol. 49, p. 71, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1873999

Sean Rehaag (Contact Author)

Centre for Refugee Studies, Refugee Law Lab & Osgoode Hall Law School, York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/rehaag-sean/

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