IMM-2926-96
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, FRIDAY, THIS 2nd DAY
OF MAY 1997
PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE
NOËL
BETWEEN:
NELLY
NYEMBO OYAYA,
Applicant,
and
MINISTER OF
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION,
Respondent.
ORDER
The application
for judicial review is dismissed.
Marc Noël
Judge
Certified true translation
C. Delon, LL.L.
IMM-2926-96
BETWEEN:
NELLY
NYEMBO OYAYA,
Applicant,
and
MINISTER OF
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION,
Respondent.
REASONS
FOR ORDER
NOËL J.
This is an
application for judicial review of two decisions of the Refugee Determination
Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (the tribunal). The first
decision, dated June 17, 1996, found that the applicant had abandoned her
refugee claim. The second, dated August 1, 1996, dismissed the applicant's
application to reopen the claim.
The history of
the proceedings in the instant case is set out in the reasons of the tribunal
that gave the decision on the application to reopen and I feel no need to
reproduce it.
With respect to
the decision finding that the applicant's claim had been abandoned, she
contends that she never received the notice of hearing and that there was no
negligence on her part. I note that counsel for the applicant, who had herself
had no news from her client, attended before the tribunal on May 1, 1996. She
indicated that she had had no contact with her client and that her client had
not responded to her own letters. The applicant submits that she never changed
her address and that she always checked her mail. To all appearances, if that
were the case, she would have received the correspondence sent to her.
With respect to
the decision refusing to reopen the claim, the tribunal was entitled to
conclude that the applicant bore full responsibility for the abandonment of her
claim, and it was therefore open to the tribunal to exercise its discretion in
a manner unfavourable to her.
Counsel for the
applicant asked that a question be certified in order to clarify the address to
which subsection 35(1) of the Convention Refugee Determination Division Rules refers
for purposes of service. I do not believe that any clarification is required
on this point since the address in question must necessarily be the address
designated by a claimant under section 36 of those Regulations.
The application
for judicial review is dismissed.
Marc Noël
Judge
Ottawa, Ontario
May 2, 1997
Certified true translation
C. Delon, LL.L.
FEDERAL
COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL
DIVISION
NAMES OF
COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT FILE NO: IMM-2303-96
and IMM-2926-96
STYLE OF CAUSE: NELLY
NYEMBO OYAYA v. M.E.I.
PLACE OF HEARING: MONTRÉAL,
QUEBEC
DATE OF HEARING: May
1, 1997
REASONS FOR ORDER OF NOËL J.
DATED: May
2, 1997
APPEARANCES:
Johanne Doyon FOR
THE APPLICANT
Pascale-Catherine Guay FOR
THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Doyon, Guertin, Montbriand &
Plamondon FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
George Thomson FOR
THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada