James C Simeon
School of Public Policy and Administration
Professor
On Sabbatical Leave
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 77083
Email: jcsimeon@yorku.ca
Primary website: http://www.yorku.ca/jcsimeon
Secondary website: http://www.yorku.ca/ciirl/
Accepting New Graduate Students
Dr. James C. Simeon is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA), Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, and a former Head of McLaughlin College, Director of the SPPA, and a former Acting Director and Deputy Director at the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS), at York University, Toronto, Canada.
Prior to joining the faculty at York University, James served as the first Executive Director of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), now the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ). He is currently an Associate Member of the IARMJ and serves as the Coordinator of its Inter-Conference Working Party Process. He is also one of the founding members of the IARMJ America Chapter. He is the immediate past President of the Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), a member of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).
James served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) as a Member and Coordinating Member from September 1994 to October 2005. While a Member and Coordinating Member of the IRB he sat on a number of high profile cases, including, Pushpanathan, an exclusion case under Article 1F of the 1951 Convention that had been argued at the Supreme Court of Canada.
James has been awarded an International Opportunities Fund (IOF) grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) with Professor Kate Jastram (University of California at Berkeley) for a collaborative project with Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill (University of Oxford), Professor Geoff Gilbert (University of Essex), and Professor Jane McAdam (University of New South Wales). The research project is entitled “War Crimes and Refugee Status: The Application and Interpretation of International Humanitarian and International Criminal Law to the Adjudication of Refugee Status in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.”
In May 2008, he was awarded funding from Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Justice Canada, the Ontario Law Foundation, SSHRC and a number of other organizations to hold a Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law at York University, http://www.yorku.ca/ciirl/, that featured a number of prominent Superior Court Judges and leading legal academic scholars from around the world.
Degrees
PhD, York UniversityMA, York University
BA, Wilfrid Laurier University
LLM, University of Cambridge
Professional Leadership
Coordinator, Inter-Conference Working Party Process of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ); President, Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), 2011-2012 and currently an Executive Member of the CARFMS Board.
Research Interests
- 2006 United States Department of State, Participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program, Washington, D.C., January 27, 2006 - 2006
- 2005 Appointed to the UNHCR RSD [Refugee Status Determination] Project Roster. See the UNHCR website at http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3d3d26004.html for further information for the RSD Project Roster. - 2005
- 2003 IRB Excellence Award, 2003 Special Team Award – Toronto Regional Office, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. - 2003
Current Research Projects
- 2006 United States Department of State, Participant in the International Visitor Leadership Program, Washington, D.C., January 27, 2006 - 2006
- 2005 Appointed to the UNHCR RSD [Refugee Status Determination] Project Roster. See the UNHCR website at http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3d3d26004.html for further information for the RSD Project Roster. - 2005
- 2003 IRB Excellence Award, 2003 Special Team Award – Toronto Regional Office, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. - 2003
Start Date:
- Month: Apr Year: 2009
End Date:
- Month: Mar Year: 2010
Collaborator: Kate Jastram
Collaborator Institution: University of California at Berkeley
Funders:
SSHRC
Junior Faculty Fund
CIDA
Justice Canada
Law Society
SSHRC
The Netherlands Consulate in
Minor Research Grant
The Criminalization of Migration: Context and Consequences. Part of the McGill-Queen's Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Series (number 1 in series)., 2018.
The UNHCR and the Supervision of International Refugee Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/ca/knowledge/isbn/item7164515/The%20UNHCR%20and%20the%20Supervision%20of%20International%20Refugee%20Law/?site_locale=en_CA
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration Instructor’s Manual. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2010.
Critical Issues in International Refugee Law: Strategies Towards Interpretative Harmony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2009.
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2008. (Test Edition)
Editor, Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection. 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2008.
Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1998. (eds.) Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon.
Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Second Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993. (eds.) Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon.
“Strengthening International Refugee Rights Through the Enhanced Supervision of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol,” The Ashgate Research Companion to Migration Law, Theory & Policy. Edited by Satvinder Singh Juss, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2013., pp. 103-128.
“IARLJ Working Parties,” Where to Now? Charting the Future Course of International Protection. 8th IARLJ World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 28th – 30th January 2009, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, MultiCopy Haarlem, 2011., pp. 371-376.
“Introduction: the research workshop on critical issues in international refugee law and strategies towards interpretative harmony,” in Critical Issues in International Refugee Law: Strategies Towards Interpretative Harmony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010., pp. 1-39.
“From Atkinson College and Beyond,” in Brenda Spotton Visano, Kristin Taylor (eds.) Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy. Toronto: York University, 2009., pp. 63-66.
“Introduction” in Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2009., pp. 1-16.
"Foreward” and “IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection. 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, MultiCopy Haarlem, 2008, pp. 170-173.
"Barry Wilson," Case 8; "The Reorganization," Case 50; "Robert Bart," Case 53, in Randy Hoffman, Fred Ruemper (eds.) Organizational Behaviour: Canadian Cases and Exercises. 6th Edition, Captus Press, Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2007.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, Manak Publications Ltd., 2006.
“Human Rights Nexus Working Party Background Paper for the Wellington Conference on Subsidiary/Complementary Protection,” in Stemming the Tide or Keeping the Balance – The Role of the Judiciary, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, IARLJ Conference 2002, New Zealand, 5th Conference, October 2002, New Zealand Association for Comparative Law and the Revue Juridique Polynesienne in association with the New Zealand Centre for Public Law of the Victoria University of Wellington, 2003.
"Human Rights Nexus Working Party: Rapporteur's Report," in The Changing Nature of Persecution, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, 4th Conference, October 2000, Berne, Switzerland, Institute of Public Law, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2001.
“The Application of Human Rights Standards to the 1951 Refugee Convention – The Definition of Persecution,” Report from the seminar “International Protection within One Single Asylum Procedure,” 23-24 April, 2001, Norrkoping, Sweden, Migrationsverket, 2001-06-15, Swedish Migration Board.
“Introduction to the Structure of the Canadian Government,” and “Canadian Public Administration and Government,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., pp. 10-43.
“Introduction,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., pp. 1-7.
“Introduction to the Constitutional Framework,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., p. 138.
“Organizational and Administrative Renewal at the Immigration and Refugee Board,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998.., pp. 285-299.
"Business and Government Relations" (revised) in John Pliniussen & Linda Wilson (eds.) Introduction to Canadian Business and Management. Second Edition, Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1997.
"Cutting Defence Department Personnel;" "The Gender Biased Decision;" "Premier Rae's Budget Consultation;" "Scrapping Family Allowance;" "The Unregistered Lobbyist?" "The Al-Mashat Affair," Case Studies in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.
"Introduction" & "Canadian Public Administration and Government," in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.
"Restructuring the Ontario Government: The Case of the COGP Reforms;" "Cutting Defence Department Personnel;" "The Gender Biased Decision;" "Premier Rae's Budget Consultation;" "Scrapping Family Allowance;" "The Unregistered Lobbyist?" "The Al-Mashat Affair" in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993., pp. 436-450.
"Business and Government Relations" in John Pliniussen (ed.) Introduction to Canadian Business and Management. Toronto: Captus Press Inc. and McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1993., pp. 31-63.
"Neo-Conservative Administrative Reform in Great Britain, United States and Canada," in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.",Neo-Conservative Administration Reform in Great Britian
"ACME Corporation," Case 1; "Barry Wilson," Case 7; "The Reorganization," Case 27; "Robert Bart," Case 29, in Randy Hoffman, Fred Ruemper (eds.) Organizational Behaviour: Canadian Cases and Exercises. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991., pp. 9-10, 30-31, 148-149, 154-155.
"Restructuring the Ontario Government: The Case of the COGP Reforms;" "Controlling Resource Allocation Within the Ontario Government," Case Studies in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991.
"Business and Government in Canada" in Laura Allan (ed.) Instructor's Manual to Accompany Introduction to Canadian Business. Toronto: Captus Press Inc. and McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1991.
"The British and Canadian Cabinet Systems: Cabinet Decision-Making Under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney" in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991.
“Business and Government Relations” in Laura A. Allan (ed.) Introduction to Canadian Business: Supplement. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, Captus Press Inc., 1990., pp. BG1-BG31.
"Policy-Making in Cabinet," in Donald C. MacDonald (ed.) Government & Politics in Ontario. 2nd Edition, Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd., 1980., pp. 102-122.
"The Real Worlds of Canadian Politics: Cases in Process and Policy," by Robert M. Campbell and Leslie A. Pal, Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 33, No. 2, Summer, 1990, pp. 248-250.
"With A Bang Not a Whimper, Pierre Trudeau Speaks Out," by Donald Johnston, (ed.) Canadian Public Policy, XVI: 2, June, 1990, p. 221.
"Organizing Governance, Governing Organizations," by Colin Campbell, SJ & B. Guy Peters, (eds.) Canadian Journal of Political Science, XXII: 3, September, 1989, pp. 654-656.
"Managing the Presidency: Carter, Reagan and the Search for Executive Harmony," by Colin Campbell, SJ, Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer, 1988, pp. 317-319.
“The 60th Anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,” Refugee Update, Issue 71, (Summer 2011), pp. 3-5.
"Thoughts on the Canadian and American Political Systems," Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, Summer, 1988, pp. 15-17.
“A Comparative Analysis of the Response of the UNHCR and Industrialized States to Rapidly Fluctuating Refugee Status and Asylum Applications: Lessons and Best Practices for RSD Systems Design and Administration,” International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2010, pp. 72-103.
“Complicity and Culpability and the Exclusion of Terrorists from Convention Refugee Status Post-9/11” Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, (2010), pp. 104-137.
“Exclusion Under Article 1F(a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada,” International Journal of Refugee Law. Vol. 21, No. 2 (July 2009): 193-217.
“Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law, May 1-2, 2008, at York University” Refuge: Canada’s Periodical on Refugees, Vol. 25, No. 2, Fall 2008, pp. 202-211.
"Prime Minister's Office and White House Office: Political Administration in Canada and the United States," Presidential Studies Quarterly, Volume XXI, No. 3, Summer, 1991, pp. 559-580.
"The Central Decision-Making Process in the Federal Government: Past, Present and Future," Optimum: A Forum for Management, Volume 21-1, 1990/91, pp. 18-33.
"The Nielsen Task Force on Program Review and the Reorganization of the Federal Government," Optimum: A Forum for Management, Volume 20-1, 1988/89, pp. 7-19.
“Coordinator’s Report of the Activities of the IARLJ Working Parties since the last IARLJ World Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, January 28th – 30th, 2009,” 9th International Association of Refugee Law Judges World Conference, Bled, Slovenia, September 7th – 9th, 2011.
“Some Issues and Concerns Regarding the Application and Interpretation of Article 1F (a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada” War Crimes and Refugee Status Conference, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, 280N York Lanes, Tuesday, August 16th, 2011.
"The Essence of Refugee Status Determination," Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), Annual Conference, “Forced Migration: Human Rights Challenges,” Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 12-13, 2011
“Excluding Those Who are Undeserving of Convention Refugee Status: The Application and Interpretation of Article IF(a) in Canada,” Presented at the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), CARFMSI0 -- Forced Migration: Challenges and Change, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, May 6th to May 8th, 2010.
Principal Investigator and organizer of the “Forced Displacement, Protection Standards and the Supervision of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol and Other International Instruments,” international conference held at York University, May 17th to 20th, 2010. See the international conference website for details on the programme, participants, and sponsors at http://www.yorku.ca/fdpss/.
“Proposals and Prospects for Enhancing the UNHCR’s Supervisory Role over the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Hilary Term 2010, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, March 9, 2010.
“The Refugee Status and Determination Process in Canada: An Insider’s Perspective on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Hilary Term 2010, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, February 9, 2010.
“The War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Project: Background, Challenges, and Progress,” War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Workshop, York University, May 17, 2010. I was also the principal organizer for this international Research Workshop. For further details on the War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Workshop see our website at http://www.yorku.ca/wcrs/.
“A Comparative Analysis of the Response of the UNHCR and States to Rapidly Fluctuating Asylum Applications: Lessons and Best Practices for RSD Design and Administration,” 12th International Conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), University of Nicosia, Cyprus, June 28th to July 2nd, 2009.
“Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Centre for Refugee Studies, Seminar Series and McLaughlin College Luncheon Talks, Co-sponsored Event, Wednesday, February 11, 2009, McLaughlin Senior Common Room, 140 McLaughlin College, York University.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process Coordinator’s Report” 8th IARLJ World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, January 28th-30th, 2009.
“War Crimes and Refugee Status Adjudication: The Research and Methodological Challenges of Conducting a Five Country Comparative Analysis,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Michaelmas Term 2009, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, November 24, 2009.
“Exclusion Under Article 1F(a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada,” Inaugural Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), York University, June 15-18, 2008.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection, 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2008.
“Americas Chapter of the IARLJ, Report to the General Meeting of the IARLJ World Conference,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, April 21 – 23, 2005.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, April 21 – 23, 2005.
“Human Rights Nexus Working Party Background Paper for the Wellington Conference on Subsidiary/Complementary Protection,” International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), 5th World Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, October 2002.
"Human Rights Nexus Working Party: Rapporteur's Report," in The Changing Nature of Persecution, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, 4th Conference, October 2000, Berne, Switzerland, Institute of Public Law, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2001.
"The Application of Human Rights Standards to the 1951 Convention – The Definition of Persecution," A paper prepared for delivery at the European Commission Experts Meetings, Norrkoping, Sweden, on April 24, 2001, by Geoffrey Care, President, International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), Report from the Seminar, International Protection within One Single Asylum Procedure, 23-24 April 2001, in Norrkoping, Sweden, Migrationsverket, 2001-0615.
2011 Critical Issues in International Refugee Law Research Workshop, April 26-27, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Chair, Rights Panel – Safe Third Country Agreement Panel Session, Inaugural Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), York University, June 15-18, 2008.
Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law, May 1-2, 2008, at York University.
Project Management Training Program for Mongolian Civil Servants,” Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, May 20-30, 2008. Project Director, Professor Saeed Rahnema, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy and Administration. I served as the instructor for “Program Evaluation” Session held on Friday, May 23rd.
“Working Paper: Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Posted as unpublished/”grey literature” on the Refugee Research Network website at http://www.refugeeresearch.net/
“Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Centre for Refugee Studies, Seminar Series and McLaughlin College Luncheon Talks, Co-sponsored Event, Wednesday, February 11, 2009, McLaughlin Senior Common Room, 140 McLaughlin College, York University. . Posted as a video cast presentation at the McLaughlin College website at http://www.yorku.ca/mclaughlin/past_events.html.
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, Engaging Research Celebration, Part 8, Assessing International Refugee Law, April 28, 2008,www.yorku.ca/akevents/flash/research/index.html.
“Researching Refugee Law and Policy: A Roundtable Discussion,” “Lines of Flight Seminar Series” Centre for Refugee Studies, with Valerie Preston, Center for Excellence in Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) and the Department of Geography, York University, Lorne Foster, Dagmar Soennecken and James C. Simeon, School of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University 305 York Lanes, Wednesday, November 21, 2007.
“Asylum and Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief,” Plenary Session, Panellist, at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), United States Department of Justice, 2003 Conference, George Mason University School of Law, Washington, D.C., USA, October 24, 2003.
“Ethics and the Exclusion of those who are “Not Deserving” of Convention Refugee Status,” The Research Handbook on International Refugee Law, Edited by Satvinder Singh Juss and Colin Harvey, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, forthcoming.
The Evolution and Development of the Refugee Status Determination System in Canada and the Balanced Refugee Reform Act,” in "Migrants and the Courts," Edited by Geoffrey Care, Ashgate Publishing
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | A | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | B | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | A | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | B | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
Dr. James C. Simeon is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA), Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, and a former Head of McLaughlin College, Director of the SPPA, and a former Acting Director and Deputy Director at the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS), at York University, Toronto, Canada.
Prior to joining the faculty at York University, James served as the first Executive Director of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), now the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ). He is currently an Associate Member of the IARMJ and serves as the Coordinator of its Inter-Conference Working Party Process. He is also one of the founding members of the IARMJ America Chapter. He is the immediate past President of the Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), a member of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).
James served on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) as a Member and Coordinating Member from September 1994 to October 2005. While a Member and Coordinating Member of the IRB he sat on a number of high profile cases, including, Pushpanathan, an exclusion case under Article 1F of the 1951 Convention that had been argued at the Supreme Court of Canada.
James has been awarded an International Opportunities Fund (IOF) grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) with Professor Kate Jastram (University of California at Berkeley) for a collaborative project with Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill (University of Oxford), Professor Geoff Gilbert (University of Essex), and Professor Jane McAdam (University of New South Wales). The research project is entitled “War Crimes and Refugee Status: The Application and Interpretation of International Humanitarian and International Criminal Law to the Adjudication of Refugee Status in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.”
In May 2008, he was awarded funding from Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Justice Canada, the Ontario Law Foundation, SSHRC and a number of other organizations to hold a Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law at York University, http://www.yorku.ca/ciirl/, that featured a number of prominent Superior Court Judges and leading legal academic scholars from around the world.
Degrees
PhD, York UniversityMA, York University
BA, Wilfrid Laurier University
LLM, University of Cambridge
Professional Leadership
Coordinator, Inter-Conference Working Party Process of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ); President, Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), 2011-2012 and currently an Executive Member of the CARFMS Board.
Research Interests
Awards
Current Research Projects
-
Project Type:
Funded
Role: Co-Applicant
Start Date:
- Month: Apr Year: 2009
End Date:
- Month: Mar Year: 2010
Collaborator: Kate Jastram
Collaborator Institution: University of California at Berkeley
Funders:
SSHRC
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Junior Faculty Fund
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
CIDA
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Justice Canada
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Law Society
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
SSHRC
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
The Netherlands Consulate in
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Minor Research Grant
All Publications
“Strengthening International Refugee Rights Through the Enhanced Supervision of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol,” The Ashgate Research Companion to Migration Law, Theory & Policy. Edited by Satvinder Singh Juss, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2013., pp. 103-128.
“IARLJ Working Parties,” Where to Now? Charting the Future Course of International Protection. 8th IARLJ World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 28th – 30th January 2009, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, MultiCopy Haarlem, 2011., pp. 371-376.
“Introduction: the research workshop on critical issues in international refugee law and strategies towards interpretative harmony,” in Critical Issues in International Refugee Law: Strategies Towards Interpretative Harmony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010., pp. 1-39.
“From Atkinson College and Beyond,” in Brenda Spotton Visano, Kristin Taylor (eds.) Room to Grow: Celebrating Atkinson’s Living Legacy. Toronto: York University, 2009., pp. 63-66.
“Introduction” in Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2009., pp. 1-16.
"Foreward” and “IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection. 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, MultiCopy Haarlem, 2008, pp. 170-173.
"Barry Wilson," Case 8; "The Reorganization," Case 50; "Robert Bart," Case 53, in Randy Hoffman, Fred Ruemper (eds.) Organizational Behaviour: Canadian Cases and Exercises. 6th Edition, Captus Press, Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2007.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, Manak Publications Ltd., 2006.
“Human Rights Nexus Working Party Background Paper for the Wellington Conference on Subsidiary/Complementary Protection,” in Stemming the Tide or Keeping the Balance – The Role of the Judiciary, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, IARLJ Conference 2002, New Zealand, 5th Conference, October 2002, New Zealand Association for Comparative Law and the Revue Juridique Polynesienne in association with the New Zealand Centre for Public Law of the Victoria University of Wellington, 2003.
"Human Rights Nexus Working Party: Rapporteur's Report," in The Changing Nature of Persecution, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, 4th Conference, October 2000, Berne, Switzerland, Institute of Public Law, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2001.
“The Application of Human Rights Standards to the 1951 Refugee Convention – The Definition of Persecution,” Report from the seminar “International Protection within One Single Asylum Procedure,” 23-24 April, 2001, Norrkoping, Sweden, Migrationsverket, 2001-06-15, Swedish Migration Board.
“Introduction to the Structure of the Canadian Government,” and “Canadian Public Administration and Government,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., pp. 10-43.
“Introduction,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., pp. 1-7.
“Introduction to the Constitutional Framework,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998., p. 138.
“Organizational and Administrative Renewal at the Immigration and Refugee Board,” in Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press, Inc., 1998.., pp. 285-299.
"Business and Government Relations" (revised) in John Pliniussen & Linda Wilson (eds.) Introduction to Canadian Business and Management. Second Edition, Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1997.
"Cutting Defence Department Personnel;" "The Gender Biased Decision;" "Premier Rae's Budget Consultation;" "Scrapping Family Allowance;" "The Unregistered Lobbyist?" "The Al-Mashat Affair," Case Studies in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.
"Introduction" & "Canadian Public Administration and Government," in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.
"Restructuring the Ontario Government: The Case of the COGP Reforms;" "Cutting Defence Department Personnel;" "The Gender Biased Decision;" "Premier Rae's Budget Consultation;" "Scrapping Family Allowance;" "The Unregistered Lobbyist?" "The Al-Mashat Affair" in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993., pp. 436-450.
"Business and Government Relations" in John Pliniussen (ed.) Introduction to Canadian Business and Management. Toronto: Captus Press Inc. and McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1993., pp. 31-63.
"Neo-Conservative Administrative Reform in Great Britain, United States and Canada," in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, James C. Simeon (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials, 2nd Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993.",Neo-Conservative Administration Reform in Great Britian
"ACME Corporation," Case 1; "Barry Wilson," Case 7; "The Reorganization," Case 27; "Robert Bart," Case 29, in Randy Hoffman, Fred Ruemper (eds.) Organizational Behaviour: Canadian Cases and Exercises. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991., pp. 9-10, 30-31, 148-149, 154-155.
"Restructuring the Ontario Government: The Case of the COGP Reforms;" "Controlling Resource Allocation Within the Ontario Government," Case Studies in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991.
"Business and Government in Canada" in Laura Allan (ed.) Instructor's Manual to Accompany Introduction to Canadian Business. Toronto: Captus Press Inc. and McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1991.
"The British and Canadian Cabinet Systems: Cabinet Decision-Making Under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Brian Mulroney" in Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson (eds.) Public Administration: Canadian Materials. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 1991.
“Business and Government Relations” in Laura A. Allan (ed.) Introduction to Canadian Business: Supplement. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, Captus Press Inc., 1990., pp. BG1-BG31.
"Policy-Making in Cabinet," in Donald C. MacDonald (ed.) Government & Politics in Ontario. 2nd Edition, Toronto: Van Nostrand Reinhold Ltd., 1980., pp. 102-122.
"The Real Worlds of Canadian Politics: Cases in Process and Policy," by Robert M. Campbell and Leslie A. Pal, Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 33, No. 2, Summer, 1990, pp. 248-250.
"With A Bang Not a Whimper, Pierre Trudeau Speaks Out," by Donald Johnston, (ed.) Canadian Public Policy, XVI: 2, June, 1990, p. 221.
"Organizing Governance, Governing Organizations," by Colin Campbell, SJ & B. Guy Peters, (eds.) Canadian Journal of Political Science, XXII: 3, September, 1989, pp. 654-656.
"Managing the Presidency: Carter, Reagan and the Search for Executive Harmony," by Colin Campbell, SJ, Canadian Public Administration, Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer, 1988, pp. 317-319.
The Criminalization of Migration: Context and Consequences. Part of the McGill-Queen's Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Series (number 1 in series)., 2018.
The UNHCR and the Supervision of International Refugee Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://www.cambridge.org/ca/knowledge/isbn/item7164515/The%20UNHCR%20and%20the%20Supervision%20of%20International%20Refugee%20Law/?site_locale=en_CA
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration Instructor’s Manual. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2010.
Critical Issues in International Refugee Law: Strategies Towards Interpretative Harmony, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2009.
Case Studies in Public Management and Administration. Toronto: Captus Press Inc., 2008. (Test Edition)
Editor, Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection. 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2008.
Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Third Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1998. (eds.) Randy Hoffman, Diane Jurkowski, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon.
Public Administration: Canadian Materials, Second Edition, North York: Captus Press Inc., 1993. (eds.) Randy Hoffman, Victor MacKinnon, Janice Nicholson, and James C. Simeon.
“The 60th Anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees,” Refugee Update, Issue 71, (Summer 2011), pp. 3-5.
"Thoughts on the Canadian and American Political Systems," Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, Summer, 1988, pp. 15-17.
“A Comparative Analysis of the Response of the UNHCR and Industrialized States to Rapidly Fluctuating Refugee Status and Asylum Applications: Lessons and Best Practices for RSD Systems Design and Administration,” International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 22, No. 1, March 2010, pp. 72-103.
“Complicity and Culpability and the Exclusion of Terrorists from Convention Refugee Status Post-9/11” Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, (2010), pp. 104-137.
“Exclusion Under Article 1F(a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada,” International Journal of Refugee Law. Vol. 21, No. 2 (July 2009): 193-217.
“Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law, May 1-2, 2008, at York University” Refuge: Canada’s Periodical on Refugees, Vol. 25, No. 2, Fall 2008, pp. 202-211.
"Prime Minister's Office and White House Office: Political Administration in Canada and the United States," Presidential Studies Quarterly, Volume XXI, No. 3, Summer, 1991, pp. 559-580.
"The Central Decision-Making Process in the Federal Government: Past, Present and Future," Optimum: A Forum for Management, Volume 21-1, 1990/91, pp. 18-33.
"The Nielsen Task Force on Program Review and the Reorganization of the Federal Government," Optimum: A Forum for Management, Volume 20-1, 1988/89, pp. 7-19.
“Coordinator’s Report of the Activities of the IARLJ Working Parties since the last IARLJ World Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa, January 28th – 30th, 2009,” 9th International Association of Refugee Law Judges World Conference, Bled, Slovenia, September 7th – 9th, 2011.
“Some Issues and Concerns Regarding the Application and Interpretation of Article 1F (a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada” War Crimes and Refugee Status Conference, Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, 280N York Lanes, Tuesday, August 16th, 2011.
"The Essence of Refugee Status Determination," Canadian Association for Refugees and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), Annual Conference, “Forced Migration: Human Rights Challenges,” Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 12-13, 2011
“Excluding Those Who are Undeserving of Convention Refugee Status: The Application and Interpretation of Article IF(a) in Canada,” Presented at the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), CARFMSI0 -- Forced Migration: Challenges and Change, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, May 6th to May 8th, 2010.
Principal Investigator and organizer of the “Forced Displacement, Protection Standards and the Supervision of the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol and Other International Instruments,” international conference held at York University, May 17th to 20th, 2010. See the international conference website for details on the programme, participants, and sponsors at http://www.yorku.ca/fdpss/.
“Proposals and Prospects for Enhancing the UNHCR’s Supervisory Role over the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Hilary Term 2010, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, March 9, 2010.
“The Refugee Status and Determination Process in Canada: An Insider’s Perspective on the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Hilary Term 2010, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, February 9, 2010.
“The War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Project: Background, Challenges, and Progress,” War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Workshop, York University, May 17, 2010. I was also the principal organizer for this international Research Workshop. For further details on the War Crimes and Refugee Status Research Workshop see our website at http://www.yorku.ca/wcrs/.
“A Comparative Analysis of the Response of the UNHCR and States to Rapidly Fluctuating Asylum Applications: Lessons and Best Practices for RSD Design and Administration,” 12th International Conference of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM), University of Nicosia, Cyprus, June 28th to July 2nd, 2009.
“Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Centre for Refugee Studies, Seminar Series and McLaughlin College Luncheon Talks, Co-sponsored Event, Wednesday, February 11, 2009, McLaughlin Senior Common Room, 140 McLaughlin College, York University.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process Coordinator’s Report” 8th IARLJ World Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, January 28th-30th, 2009.
“War Crimes and Refugee Status Adjudication: The Research and Methodological Challenges of Conducting a Five Country Comparative Analysis,” Refugee Studies Centre, Informal Seminar Series, Michaelmas Term 2009, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford, November 24, 2009.
“Exclusion Under Article 1F(a) of the 1951 Convention in Canada,” Inaugural Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), York University, June 15-18, 2008.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” Forced Migration and the Advancement of International Protection, 7th World Conference, November 6-9, 2006, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2008.
“Americas Chapter of the IARLJ, Report to the General Meeting of the IARLJ World Conference,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, April 21 – 23, 2005.
“IARLJ Inter-Conference Working Party Process, Coordinator’s Report,” in The Asylum Process and the Rule of Law, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, The Netherlands, 6th IARLJ World Conference, Stockholm, Sweden, April 21 – 23, 2005.
“Human Rights Nexus Working Party Background Paper for the Wellington Conference on Subsidiary/Complementary Protection,” International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), 5th World Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, October 2002.
"Human Rights Nexus Working Party: Rapporteur's Report," in The Changing Nature of Persecution, International Association of Refugee Law Judges, 4th Conference, October 2000, Berne, Switzerland, Institute of Public Law, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2001.
"The Application of Human Rights Standards to the 1951 Convention – The Definition of Persecution," A paper prepared for delivery at the European Commission Experts Meetings, Norrkoping, Sweden, on April 24, 2001, by Geoffrey Care, President, International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ), Report from the Seminar, International Protection within One Single Asylum Procedure, 23-24 April 2001, in Norrkoping, Sweden, Migrationsverket, 2001-0615.
2011 Critical Issues in International Refugee Law Research Workshop, April 26-27, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Chair, Rights Panel – Safe Third Country Agreement Panel Session, Inaugural Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS), York University, June 15-18, 2008.
Research Workshop on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law, May 1-2, 2008, at York University.
Project Management Training Program for Mongolian Civil Servants,” Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, May 20-30, 2008. Project Director, Professor Saeed Rahnema, School of Social Sciences and Public Policy and Administration. I served as the instructor for “Program Evaluation” Session held on Friday, May 23rd.
“Working Paper: Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Posted as unpublished/”grey literature” on the Refugee Research Network website at http://www.refugeeresearch.net/
“Charting the Future Course of International Refugee Protection: A Review of the 8th International Association of Refugee Law Judges (IARLJ) World Conference,” Centre for Refugee Studies, Seminar Series and McLaughlin College Luncheon Talks, Co-sponsored Event, Wednesday, February 11, 2009, McLaughlin Senior Common Room, 140 McLaughlin College, York University. . Posted as a video cast presentation at the McLaughlin College website at http://www.yorku.ca/mclaughlin/past_events.html.
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, Engaging Research Celebration, Part 8, Assessing International Refugee Law, April 28, 2008,www.yorku.ca/akevents/flash/research/index.html.
“Researching Refugee Law and Policy: A Roundtable Discussion,” “Lines of Flight Seminar Series” Centre for Refugee Studies, with Valerie Preston, Center for Excellence in Research on Immigration and Settlement (CERIS) and the Department of Geography, York University, Lorne Foster, Dagmar Soennecken and James C. Simeon, School of Public Policy and Administration, Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University 305 York Lanes, Wednesday, November 21, 2007.
“Asylum and Other Forms of Humanitarian Relief,” Plenary Session, Panellist, at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), United States Department of Justice, 2003 Conference, George Mason University School of Law, Washington, D.C., USA, October 24, 2003.
“Ethics and the Exclusion of those who are “Not Deserving” of Convention Refugee Status,” The Research Handbook on International Refugee Law, Edited by Satvinder Singh Juss and Colin Harvey, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, forthcoming.
The Evolution and Development of the Refugee Status Determination System in Canada and the Balanced Refugee Reform Act,” in "Migrants and the Courts," Edited by Geoffrey Care, Ashgate Publishing
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | A | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | B | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
Upcoming Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | A | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
| Fall/Winter 2024 | AP/PPAS4070 6.0 | B | Sociology of Law | SEMR |
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