Judicial Review by the Federal Court of Canada

Understand Judicial Review

A judicial review means a Federal Court judge will look at the IRB-RPD or IRB-RAD rejection of your claim or appeal. If the judge decides the Member made a legal mistake, they send your claim back to the IRB-RPD. A different IRB-RPD Member will make a new decision.

You may be able to apply for judicial review if:

You are not allowed to appeal to the IRB-RAD.
The IRB-RAD rejects your appeal.

Get legal representation

If you want to apply for judicial review, get a lawyer as soon as possible. Other types of legal representatives (such as an immigration consultant) are not allowed to represent you in Federal Court. You may have to apply quickly to make the deadline, and then get a lawyer.

Important!

In some cases. You may be entitled to legal aid coverage or sometimes pro bono representation. Make sure to document all your efforts to secure legal representation.

You may have to apply before getting a lawyer due to the quick deadlines. If you miss your deadline, your lawyer can request an extension of time. If you can document your efforts to file your application on time and there are legal grounds for your delay, you will be granted an extension of time.

Beware of ghost representatives, consultants or agents all of which are not authorized to help or represent you in your application for judicial review and pretend you are self represented. If convicted these illegal representatives impersonating you can face a possible jail or prison sentence. You should never pay them to represent you.

Non-lawyers who perform acts reserved for lawyers or who give reason to believe that they are authorized to practice as a lawyer are practicing law illegally. In doing so, they often jeopardize and cause irreparable damages to your rights. This is why it is a criminal Act

To protect your rights, visit the Federal Court Finding Legal Help page to find free authorized legal advice, representation or Lawyer Referral Services.

Stay in Canada

Whether you are eligible to stay in Canada depends on the IRB decision you want reviewed.

If you are asking for a IRB-RAD decision to be reviewed:
- You can stay in Canada until the Federal Court makes a decision unless you are from a designated country or unless you failed to meet your deadline to file a judicial review application.
If you are asking for a IRB-RPD decision to be reviewed:
- You may need to leave Canada. If CBSA tries to remove you before the judicial review, you can ask for an “administrative stay of removal.”

Start your application for judicial review

To apply for judicial review, you need permission (called leave) from a Federal Court judge. You must show that the decision on your refugee claim was not fair or reasonable, or that there was a legal and/or factual error.

To start your application for judicial review, you must:

Submit an Application for Leave within 15 days of getting your Notice of Decision from either the IRB-RPD or IRB-RAD.
“Perfect” your application within 30 days of submitting your Application for Leave. This means you prepare an Application Record with documents and the legal reasons to support why you do not agree with the decision.

A judge looks over your documents and decides if you can get a full judicial review of your claim. If you cannot, your application is denied without reason. You will receive a decision refusing your authorization and your file will be closed.

Judicial review

If you are allowed to have a judicial review, the judge will render an order with a timeline to hear your case and to present a further memorandum and a reply. This order will also set a date for a hearing. The hearing is the chance for your lawyer to speak to the judge about your claim.

Get your decision

You may get the judge’s decision on the day of the hearing or later.

If the Court agrees with the IRB-RPD or IRB-RAD decision and says there was no error, you may need to leave Canada. Discuss next steps with your lawyer if you have not done so already.
If the judge decides the Board Member made a legal mistake or an error of fact or both, the Court can send your claim back to the IRB-RPD. A different IRB-RPD Member will make a new decision. This does not always mean that your refugee claim will be approved.