Who is the enemy? In May last year, I knew exactly who the enemy was. It was someone who sought to entice me away from completing a manuscript on which I was working relentlessly. I was on long leave, a Ford Foundation Scholar in Residence, trying to complete a book about the connections between my life experiences, on the one hand, and my decision-making processes as a judge, on the other. The more attractive the seduction, the greater the danger. I succumbed, but not completely. The invitation was to participate in a research workshop in Toronto on Critical Issues in International Refugee Law. And since I was actually going to be in Toronto at the time, I gave way a little … could I prepare a few notes at the last minute, and then make an impromptu presentation? The organisers agreed. The theme I promised came to me from the book I was writing – The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law. Hence the title of the proposed talk: From Refugee to Judge of Refugee Law.

I made a point of getting to the workshop an hour before my presentation was due. The plan was to give myself enough time to pull a few thoughts together. But the paper I heard on my arrival was so interesting that I decided to postpone any note jotting till discussion-time.