The New Canadian Law of Refugee Exclusion: An Empirical Analysis of International Criminal Law Deportation Orders, January 2018 to July 2020

Abstract

Perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and senior officials in notorious government regimes, can be deported from Canada. This study reports on the first complete and systematic empirical analysis of all finalized international criminality deportation cases in Canada. The analysis, a review of deportation cases finalized between January 2018 and July 2020, shows that Canada is using deportation law in place of, and instead of, refugee exclusion law. This means that scholars interested in Canadian refugee exclusion should play close attention to deportation law. This study also found that international criminality allegations were usually made against people for their involvement in problematic police, prison, or military institutions. Most international criminality deportation investigations were minimal and revolved almost entirely around a person’s self-disclosures. This article concludes with a discussion about how deportation law and process makes international criminal law unique in the deportation context.