Privacy and the Open Court Principle in Federal Court Refugee Judicial Reviews

Commitment to the open court principle is coming under pressure from those who point to concerns about the privacy of litigants. Due to technological developments, court materials are easier to access than ever. Researchers, journalists, legal publishers, government agencies, tech start-ups and others are attempting leverage these materials to pursue projects with wide ranging potential impacts. Ensuring equitable access to these opportunities is essential to preserving fairness and transparency in legal proceedings. However, because many court materials include intensively personal information, the easy availability of this information, both to the public and to organizations that accumulate the information in bulk, raise challenging privacy concerns.

This joint Centre for Refugee Studies / Refugee Law Lab seminar will examine how to simultaneously promote privacy and the open court principle in the specific context of Federal Court judicial reviews of refugee determinations.

The Refugee Law Lab has prepared a working paper on the topic, which is available here.

Speakers:

Jonathan Khan, Researcher (Refugee Law Lab), Doctoral Candidate (Osgoode Hall, Law School), York University

Sean Rehaag, Director (Refugee Law Lab), Director (Centre for Refugee Studies), Associate Professor (Osgoode Hall Law School), York University

Discussants: 

Amy Salyzyn, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law – Common Law Section, University of Ottawa

Colin Lachance, Founder and Executive Director of Legal Innovation Data Institute. Founder and CEO of Compass.

Katarina Germani, Legal Counsel, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Anne Ko, Director & Senior Legal Counsel, Teranet Inc.

David Lepofsky, Chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Alliance

Register in advance for this joint RLL & CRS seminar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.