Justice Michael Phelan and Refugee Appeal Division RAD

Refugee Appeal Division RAD: Fridays court decision is a setback for the Refugee Appeal Division RAD , which Ottawa implemented in 2012 as part of the Conservative governments compromise while it rolled out controversial reforms of the asylum process that drastically shortened processing timelines and limited appeals, according to The Star. If the RAD simply reviews . . . decisions for reasonableness, then its appellate role is curtailed. It would merely duplicate what occurs on a judicial review, Justice Michael Phelan wrote in a decision, released Friday, on a case involving a failed refugee family from Kosovo and A new tribunal created to hear refugee appeals must conduct its own independent assessment of facts when reviewing decisions by lower tribunals, says the Federal Court of Canada. Although the government has vowed to grant failed refugees access to a full fact-based appeal through the RAD, critics complain adjudicators on the appeal tribunal often just review the reasonableness of a refugee decision and defer to the judgment of their colleagues in the lower tribunal when it comes to fact determination. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.