Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I think we have to be reasonable. There is an arbitrary aspect to the commission and there is even one, to a certain degree, in the judgments of the various Federal Court judges. That is simply one thing we have to deal with.
In response to your concern, I would like to say two things. First, the Federal Court's judgments are binding on the commissioners, which has the actual effect of bringing about a level of coherence among their various decisions. In addition, the courts have recognized the guidelines issued by the commission chairperson as a reasonable measure to encourage board members to handle similar cases in a similar manner.
I've been in my position for three years, and one of the things that very much surprises me is that the decisions superficially seem arbitrary, but every case has special and particular aspects. It's not as arbitrary as it appears. You have to examine each case in detail. I acknowledge that there is an arbitrary aspect, but Federal Court decisions have the same practical effect as those the Refugee Appeal Division would have.