Case Law Update: 'Nemeth v. Canada (Justice)'

2010 SCC 56, Released 25 November 2010

Immigration and Refugee Law – Extradition – Principle of Non-Refoulement

This appeal involved the interplay between the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where they will face prosecution (the principle of non-refoulement) and Canada's obligations with respect to extradition.

The appellants, who are of Roma ethnic origin, arrived in Canada from Hungary in 2001, and were given refugee status due to a well-founded fear of persecution. Two years later, Hungary issued an international arrest warrant in respect of a fraud charge against the appellants, for an allegedly fraudulent lease for $2,700 CAD. The Minister of Justice ordered the...