Singh v Canada

Singh v Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing: 30 April, 1 May 1984
Judgment: 4 April 1985
Full case nameSingh v Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration)
Citations[1985] 1 SCR 177
Docket No.17904 [1]
Court membership
Chief Justice: Brian Dickson
Puisne Justices: Roland Ritchie, Jean Beetz, Willard Estey, William McIntyre, Julien Chouinard, Antonio Lamer, Bertha Wilson, Gerald Le Dain
Reasons given
Plurality(1) Wilson (Dickson and Lamer concurring) (paras. 1–80)
(2) Beetz (Estey and McIntyre concurring) (paras. 81–126)
Ritchie, Chouinard, and Le Dain took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadian Bill of Rights


Singh v Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration), [1985] 1 S.C.R. 177 is a 1985 case of the Supreme Court of Canada. It determined that refugee claimants had a constitutional right to an oral hearing, by the principles of fundamental justice. The judgment was an early decision under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and was also decided under the Canadian Bill of Rights. It had a significant impact on immigration law, human rights law, constitutional law, and administrative law in Canada. The Singh decision resulted in amnesty being granted to tens of thousands of refugee claimants and sweeping reforms which gave Canada one of the most liberal and most expensive refugee systems in the world. The anniversary of the ruling, 4 April, has been observed in Canada as Refugee Rights Day.

  1. ^ SCC Case Information - Docket 17904 Supreme Court of Canada