The Chairperson's Guidelines provide guiding principles for adjudicating and managing cases. They serve primarily as source of guidance for decision-makers, but also for the personnel supporting adjudicative functions. They may have an adjudicative or an operational content. While they are not mandatory, decision-makers are expected to apply them or provide a reasoned justification for not doing so. Within the
IRB, Guidelines have generally been employed to achieve strategic objectives, as opposed to simply managing daily operations. The
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, in
s. 159(1)(h), provides statutory authority for the Guidelines.