(IV) Refugee Hearing

• In preparation of your refugee hearing you should review your PIF form and narrative (story) in detail. The details of your story are important and during the RPD hearing you will likely be asked detailed questions about the events that led you to seek refugee protection in Canada. If you have a witness for your hearing, you should prepare the witness for the hearing.
  
  
• Refugee claimants in British Columbia may be able to attend an RPD orientation day. The RPD in Vancouver offers limited orientation sessions to refugee claimants who are interested in taking a tour of the RPD tribunals and learning about the hearing process. The sessions are held every few weeks and there are a limited number of spaces available so it is important to contact the RPD registry as early as possible to ask for an orientation session.
  
  
• On the day your hearing is scheduled it is important to arrive 30 minutes early to inform the registrar of your presence. Your interpreter should be waiting at the registry and you can speak with them to determine if you can understand each other.
  
  
  • The RPD hearing room is setup much like a court room. You and your legal counsel (if available) will sit across from the RPD member (judge). A hearing officer (if one is assigned) will be sitting to one side of the room and your interpreter will be sitting on the other side. Any family members or observers will be sitting at the back of the room.
    
    
  • The RPD hearing is meant to be non-adversarial: neither the RPD member (the judge) nor the officer should take a personal interest in disproving your case or attacking your story. The RPD member and the tribunal officer are interested in clarifying your story and asking questions which will test the credibility of your story. In some instances, however, questioning can become very aggressive much like a court cross-examination.
    
    
  • At the beginning of the hearing the RPD member will introduce themselves and explain the procedures that are to follow. The tribunal officer, who is employed by the RPD, will then proceed to ask the claimant questions as arising from their PIF. The tribunal officer's questioning can last up to several hours and it usually covers most of the issues arising in the particular case. The RPD member may intervene to ask questions and usually asks a few clarifying questions after the tribunal officer completes their questioning.
    
    
  • The rules of evidence in RPD hearings are not strict and it is possible that hearsay evidence (evidence about what someone else said), documents disclosed late, and even non-notarized supporting letters will be accepted by the RPD member.
    
    
  • In providing oral testimony it is important to speak truthfully and to respond to the questions being asked. Do not be afraid to ask the member to repeat the question if you do not understand it or the interpretation is not adequate. Credibility is always an issue in RPD hearings and it is important that you are truthful in providing your answers.
    
    
• At the conclusion of your hearing, the RPD member will either provide you with an oral decision or reserve the decision to be provided at a later date. If the decision has been reserved, you will receive notice of your decision by mail at your registered address within one to three months or longer.