On 23 July, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that denying refugee claimants from Designated Countries of Origin access to the Refugee Appeal Division was a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Court ruled that these claimants must have access to the Refugee Appeal Division, effective immediately.

Professor Cathryn Costello, Andrew W Mellon Associate Professor in International Human Rights and Refugee Law, provided an Expert Affidavit in the case.

The ruling provides an important example of how basic principles of fairness, in this case, the Canadian Charter’s guarantees of equality and due process, may be invoked to challenge policies that restrict the rights of asylum seekers.

(See the original post from the Oxford Refugee Studies Centre.)