The Refugee Protection Division must give claimants the opportunity to present evidence and make submissions, can question witnesses, can receive any credible evidence regardless of formal rules of evidence, and can require the production of documents, all to ensure every refugee claim gets a fair and thorough review.
170 The Refugee Protection Division, in any proceeding before it, (a)may inquire into any matter that it considers relevant to establishing whether a claim is well-founded; (b)must hold a hearing; (c)must notify the person who is the subject of the proceeding and the Minister of the hearing; (d)must provide the Minister, on request, with the documents and information referred to in subsection 100(4); (d.1)may question the witnesses, including the person who is the subject of the proceeding; (e)must give the person and the Minister a reasonable opportunity to present evidence, question witnesses and make representations; (f)may, despite paragraph (b), allow a claim for refugee protection without a hearing, if the Minister has not notified the Division, within the period set out in the rules of the Board, of the Minister’s intention to intervene; (g)is not bound by any legal or technical rules of evidence; (h)may receive and base a decision on evidence that is adduced in the proceedings and considered credible or trustworthy in the circumstances; and (i)may take notice of any facts that may be judicially noticed, any other generally recognized facts and any information or opinion that is within its specialized knowledge.
170.2 The Refugee Protection Division does not have jurisdiction to reopen on any ground — including a failure to observe a principle of natural justice — a claim for refugee protection, an application for protection or an application for cessation or vacation, in respect of which the Refugee Appeal Division or the Federal Court, as the case may be, has made a final determination.