War Crimes: Supreme Court

Supreme Court: In a precedent-setting 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court granted the appeal of Rachidi Ekanza Ezokola and ordered a new refugee hearing to determine whether he was complicit by association in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the government of his country, according to Huffington Post. The ruling clarified the line that defines whether senior public officials should be excluded from the definition of a refugee for being part of a government that commits war crimes. It also shifted the burden of proof needed to deny a refugee applicant to the minister of immigration and OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada's ruling Friday on a former Congolese diplomat's refugee claim will prevent innocent asylum seekers from being unfairly branded as war criminals, legal experts say. The court ruled that a person can only be excluded from refugee protection "if there are serious reasons for considering that he or she voluntarily made a knowing and significant contribution to the crime or criminal purpose of the group alleged to have committed the crime." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.