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Case Notes: Canada (Attorney-General) V. Ward (1993)

 



Naveen Prem, Vellore Institute of Technology, School of Law, Chennai Campus


ABSTRACT


This Case Comment critically examines the judgement of the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Canada (Attorney-General) v. Ward (1993) which was responsible for the redefinition of the core principles of refugee law especially with respect to the interpretation of terms such as persecution, state protection, asylum, etc. With that, the case also revitalized the scope of the Refugee Convention in the world forum. Through the case, the court had also broadened the understanding of political opinions while rejecting state-centric view of persecution. This paper highlights and examines the heart of the judgement which were the doctrinal questions that were reasoned and held. It also enumerates in detail the ambiguities that came with the progressive aspects of the judgement. The commentary will dwell on the lack in the provision of a robust or consistent test to define the term particular social group. Through doctrinal analysis and critical examination, this paper evaluates the impacts of the judgment in cases of future adjudications on similar instances while aligning it with international human rights norms. Thus, this case comment on the judgement stives to critically analyses and establish the foundational nature of the case that has continued to shape the silhouettes of Refugee law while revealing the contemporary need for in inclusivity and legal clarity in the determination of refugee status.



Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research

Abbreviation: IJLLR

ISSN: 2582-8878

Website: www.ijllr.com

Accessibility: Open Access

License: Creative Commons 4.0

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All research articles published in The Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research are fully open access. i.e. immediately freely available to read, download and share. Articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons license which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

 

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The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IJLLR or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IJLLR.

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