Refugee Protection Division Hearings
You can request funding to prepare for and attend a client’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD) hearing quickly and easily via Legal Aid Online.
To have the hearing authorization added to a BOC certificate, you must submit one of the following documents, which confirms that your client’s claim has been referred to the RPD:
- Confirmation of Referral document
- Refugee Protection Claimant Document
- Notice to Appear for a hearing* (see the note below for BOC certificates that require a Notice to Appear to be submitted)
- correspondence from the IRB indicating the claim may be eligible for the Less Complex Claims Process
- any other correspondence from the Refugee Protection Division which can confirm the claim was referred to the RPD
Please note the Acknowledgement of Claim document is no longer an acceptable document.
When uploading the document confirming referral of the claim to the RPD, please follow these steps:
- Step 1: In the Document Attachments section for the BOC certificate, under “Description” indicate “requesting hearing authorization.”
- Step 2: Under “Document Code” select “102 – RPD authorization materials.”
This will automatically generate a review of your request for hearing authorization. The completed BOC and narrative must be on file (previously uploaded or uploaded at the same time as the document above) for the request to be considered.
If you are providing your BOC at the same time as an RPD Hearing Authorization request, use Document Code “115” for the BOC, and Document Code “102” only for the document in the list above.
Where a BOC has been previously uploaded using this process, there is no requirement to upload it a second time when the RPD Hearing Authorization request is made.
Notice to Appear for a hearing required for some certificates
*NOTE: Some BOC certificates include an additional three hours to respond to disclosure requests from the RPD further to the Less Complex Claims / File Review process.
For these BOC certificates, RPD Hearing authorization is only granted when a Notice to Appear for a hearing is submitted.
You can identify these certificates because they include an additional three hours, mention “filing of documents in accordance with the IRB expedited process for refugee claimants” and also include the following notation:
“Counsel to contact Legal Aid if full hearing is required for which a further 6 hours plus hearing attendance time will be authorized.”
Your request will be assessed by LAO subject matter experts for:
- legal merit and likelihood of success and
- whether or not to amend the BOC certificate to authorize funding for nine hours of legal services leading up to the RPD hearing.
Two Hour Authorizations for Subsequent Sitting Preparation and Written Submissions
LAO pays up to two hours to cover the cost of preparation for each subsequent sitting at the RPD, and up to two hours for the preparation of written submissions. Payment will be processed for eligible accounts meeting these criteria:
- Dockets capture time spent preparing for subsequent RPD sitting(s) or written submissions; and
- Counsel has sent a copy of the Notice to Appear for subsequent sitting(s) or a copy of written submissions to LAO via Legal Aid Online
Counsel can request this and a number of other tariff authorizations related to RPD certificates, by completing and uploading the following form Legal Aid Online.
Payment will be processed for eligible accounts meeting these criteria:
Note: Before you bill the account, please check Legal Aid Online to make sure that the authorization has been added to your certificate.
Discretionary increases
If the amount of time to prepare for RPD hearings exceeds the tariff available to you, you may request discretion by completing the following form and attaching it to your account.