Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Mahjoub

Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Mahjoub

Given the agreed factual underpinnings of danger, the Court found the Ministers had not met the heightened evidentiary burden imposed by nearly ten years of detention and prior compliance with stringent release conditions; the length of detention and uncertain timing of removal weighed in favour of conditional release. The Court ordered release under strict but less onerous conditions tailored to neutralize the security risk (GPS monitoring, surveillance of residence, specified cash surety $20,000 and performance bonds $48,000, curfew 22:00-08:00 with Ramadan exception, supervised and unsupervised outing regimes), rejecting arguments that relaxation of conditions equated to a...

Citation
2009 FC 1220
Parties
Applicants: The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and The Minister of Public Safety; Respondent: Mohamed Zeki Mahjoub
Court
Federal Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
30 November 2009
Procedural Posture
Detention Review Under a Security Certificate / Detention Review and Order for Conditional Release Pending Reasonableness Hearing
Outcome
Released from detention subject to detailed conditional release order (Schedule A) pending determination of reasonableness of the security certificate and if reasonable, pending removal and subsequent reviews
Legal Topics
Security Certificate, Detention Review, Conditions of Release, Proportionality, Electronic Monitoring, Burden and Standard of Proof
Source Language
English
Immigration National Security Administrative Law Constitutional Law Security Certificate Detention Review Conditions of Release Proportionality +2 more

Case Brief

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Parties

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and The Minister of Public Safety

Applicants

Mohamed Zeki Mahjoub

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Detention Review Under a Security Certificate / Detention Review and Order for Conditional Release Pending Reasonableness Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether release under conditions would be injurious to national security or endanger safety of any person
  2. 2 Whether length of detention reduces the threat and raises the government’s evidentiary burden
  3. 3 Whether less intrusive alternatives to detention (conditions) are available and proportionate

Ratio Decidendi

Given the agreed factual underpinnings of danger, the Court found the Ministers had not met the heightened evidentiary burden imposed by nearly ten years of detention and prior compliance with stringent release conditions; the length of detention and uncertain timing of removal weighed in favour of conditional release. The Court ordered release under strict but less onerous conditions tailored to neutralize the security risk (GPS monitoring, surveillance of residence, specified cash surety $20,000 and performance bonds $48,000, curfew 22:00-08:00 with Ramadan exception, supervised and unsupervised outing regimes), rejecting arguments that relaxation of conditions equated to a...

Court Disposition

Released from detention subject to detailed conditional release order (Schedule A) pending determination of reasonableness of the security certificate and if reasonable, pending removal and subsequent reviews

Orders

  • Release subject to terms and conditions set out in Schedule A to the Reasons (electronic monitoring, surveillance, curfew, visitor and outing regimes)
  • Cash surety of $20,000 CAD to be paid into court prior to release