The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the following appointment under the judicial application process established in 2016. This process emphasizes transparency, merit, and the diversity of the Canadian population, and will continue to ensure the appointment of jurists who meet the highest standards of excellence and integrity.
Negar Azmudeh, Assistant Deputy Chairperson at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in Vancouver, is appointed a Judge of the Federal Court. Justice Azmudeh fills the remaining position authorized under the Budget Implementation Act, 2019.
I wish Justice Azmudeh every success as she takes on her new role. I am confident she will serve Canadians well as a member of the Federal Court.
—The Hon. Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Biography
Justice Negar Azmudeh immigrated to Canada from Iran when she was 18. She obtained a B.A. in French, History, and Political Science from Simon Fraser University and an LL.B. from the University of Ottawa. She was called to the British Columbia bar in December 1999.
Justice Azmudeh is fluent in both of Canada’s official languages and has adjudicated cases in English and French. She articled at a small personal injury law firm in Vancouver and began her legal career in general practice before focusing exclusively on immigration and refugee law. Prior to being appointed as a member (adjudicator) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in 2008, she was a sole practitioner. For the past 24 years, she has dedicated her professional career to Canada’s refugee determination system. Her roles in this system have included representing individuals before Canada’s tribunals and courts, working as an adjudicator within those tribunals, hiring and training new decision-makers on refugee law and procedure, developing professional development and mentorship programs for decision-makers, managing teams of decision-makers, and acting as a senior executive leading the administration of the refugee determination system. Most recently, she founded the Quality Centre at the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) and led initiatives to increase the efficiency, quality and consistency of decision-making.
Justice Azmudeh and her partner Thomas Kuehn are proud parents of their 13-year-old son Navid and their 9-year-old daughter Nousha and live in Coquitlam, British Columbia.