If your refugee claim is declared “abandoned,” you will not be allowed to continue with your claim or make another claim in the future. You will have to go to a special abandonment hearing if you miss [..]

An accused is a person who has been charged with a criminal offence. They are alleged to have committed a crime, which means that the police feel they have reasons, based on evidence they have gathere [..]

An adjournment is when a case is delayed until another day. If a case is delayed until another day, it has been ‘adjourned.’ You may also hear that a case was ‘put over’ or ‘held over.’ This also desc [..]

A sworn statement of fact that is written down. Affidavits must be administered by an authorized person.

An affirmation is a solemn promise that a person makes to tell the truth in court. It is different from an oath in that it does not involve swearing on a religious text. See also: Testify

When someone is charged with an offence, the actions or crimes they are said by the police and the Crown to have done are called allegations. Allegations have not been proven in court. If allegations [..]

If you are eligible, you can challenge a decision rejecting your claim by having an appeal at the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) of the IRB.

An arrest occurs when a person is taken into police custody. If an arrest occurs, the person under arrest is, at least temporarily, not free to leave. Usually the person under arrest is placed in hand [..]

An assessment (also called a ‘psychiatric assessment’) is a type of interview or examination of an accused, usually conducted by a psychiatrist. An assessment is done to try to find out information ab [..]

Every refugee claimant must complete this form that asks for information about you and why you are making a refugee claim.