The complainant was a claimant whose case was heard before a member of the Immigration Appeal Division and was represented by legal counsel.
The complainant alleged that the member caused the complainant emotional stress, did not respect the complainant, and repeatedly asked them the same questions.
The way a member manages the hearing and assesses the matter before them is a matter of adjudicative discretion. As such, these allegations were not within the scope of the Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member (the Procedures).
The third allegation in the complaint related to the member repeatedly asking the complainant the same question which was also a matter of the member's adjudicative discretion. However, within this allegation, the complainant also referred to the member's aggressive tone and manner.
Therefore, to determine whether this allegation would fall under the scope of the Procedures, the Office of the Ombudsperson reviewed all audio recordings of the hearings held prior to the complaint being submitted. In these recordings, there were no comments or behaviour on the part of the member which could form the basis of a conduct complaint.
After reviewing the complaint, and consistent with the recommendation of the Ombudsperson, the Chairperson dismissed the complaint under the Procedures because none of the allegations were within scope.
The complaint was dismissed and the file was closed.