Preface

• Author: Martin Jones - Sasha Baglay
• Profession: Centre for Refugee Studies, York University - Centre for Refugee Studies, York University. Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• Pages: 17-20

PR EFACE

A. INT RODUCTION

This book is intended as an i ntroductory guide to Can adian refugee

law and procedure for law students, legal practitioners, paralegals, and

NGO staff. While it is at time s technical in its language and procedural

descriptions, it can also be used by those interested in refugee issue s

more generally.

The book def‌ines “Canadian refugee law” fairly broadly to include

not only the formal statutory and reg ulatory basis of t he law but also

the various policies, proce sses, and practices that are used to deter mine

refugee law issues. Furt hermore, the term is seen to i nclude not only

protection of individuals who are Convention refugees but also various

other categories of individual s who are in need of protection due to a

potential violation of their human r ights abroad.

While over the past several dec ades Canadia n refugee law has

emerged as an independent branch of law and discrete area of practice,

inevitably it remain s closely tied to immigration law and often requires

cross-referencing to immig ration law. Therefore, this book presents

refugee law as a system subject to that discipline’s internal logic and

integrity, not a system of law that operates in isolation.

The principal objective of the book is to prov ide an accurate account

of the basic features of Can adian refugee law, policy, and procedure. It

is by no means exh austive. No single book can descr ibe, discuss, and

resolve all of the details a nd nuances of the Canadi an refugee system.

However, it is our hope that this account will provide a solid founda-

tion from which the reader can beg in to judge the merits and weak-

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