Section 73 — No right of appeal from Federal Court
Text of provision
The Minister may make an application for leave to commence an application for judicial review with respect to any decision of the Refugee Appeal Division, whether or not the Minister took part in the proceedings before the Refugee Protection Division or Refugee Appeal Division.
Plain English
Section 73 removes the ordinary right of appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal from Federal Court decisions on immigration judicial review applications. The only exception is where the Federal Court certifies that a serious question of general importance is involved — in that case, the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear the appeal on that question.
A certified question must be a question that transcends the individual case and would be dispositive of an appeal. Routine applications for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal without a certified question are not permitted.
Practical effect
The certified question mechanism is a significant restriction on appellate review in immigration matters. In practice, certified questions are rarely granted. This means that Federal Court judicial review decisions on individual immigration matters are effectively final — the system is designed to resolve most cases at the Federal Court level. The Supreme Court of Canada retains jurisdiction to grant leave to appeal on questions of national importance, regardless of the certification requirement.