After four days of Court of Appeal sittings and a temporary injunction barring the Attorney General, Bernard Q. Pitts, from passing the Belize Constitution, the “9th” Amendment Bill (now 8th because the original 8th Amendment was “put to rest”) was submitted to the Governor General, Sir. Colville Young, for his signature so that it could become law, after the full bench of the Court of Appeal dismissed the application by two known People’s United Party affiliates, long associated with the “Ashcroft Alliance,” for an interim injunction on the Bill until a referendum is held.
This final decision from the Court of Appeal was rendered a few minutes after 2:00 p.m., yesterday, Tuesday, October 25. Yesterday’s dismissal decision was the third, so far, in a series of decisions unfavorable to this particular group that’s been seeking to stall the passing of the amendment. The first dismissal of the injunction request was on Friday, October 21, 2011, by Chief Justice, Kenneth Benjamin, in the Supreme Court; the second dismissal of the injunction request was on Monday, October 24, 2011, at approximately 9:30 a.m., by a single Court of Appeal, Justice Douglas Mendes, and the third dismissal was made yesterday by the full court of three judges of the Court of Appeal.
The court battle that was undertaken by the appellants PUP Cayo South campaign manager, Vaughan Gill, and PUP party supporter Ricardo Castillo against the respondents, the Prime Minster of Belize, Hon. Dean Barrow, and the Attorney General of Belize, created a precedence in the judiciary, because the court system in Belize opened its doors on a weekend to accommodate the “urgent” application.
The Court of Appeal received the request from the appellants for an appeal on the judgment made by the Chief Justice on Friday, and in response it opened its doors on Saturday, October 22, 2011, at approximately 10:00 a.m., then on Sunday, October 23, 2011, and then again in an early morning hearing at 6:00 a.m. Monday, October 24, 2011 — something that has never been done in Belize’s history.
Attorneys for the appellants were Godfrey Smith and a former United Kingdom Attorney General, Lord Peter Goldsmith; the defense was represented by attorneys Lois Young and Denys Barrow.
Yesterday, Tuesday, around 2:10 p.m. in the Court of Appeal, a total of thirty-six persons — thirteen of whom were lawyers, along with twenty-one other persons that included media personnel and respective party affiliates of the PUP and the United Democratic Party (UDP) — gathered to hear the court’s decision on the case.
The court openedthe sitting yesterday by setting out their rationale for their united decision on the application before they declared, “The court has come to the conclusion, having taken due time for consideration of the application of Ricardo Castillo and Vaughan Gill for an interim injunction pending the hearing of their appeal, [that the application] should be refused for reasons which the court shall give, in writing, at a later date. Accordingly the order of Justice of Appeal, [Douglas] Mendes, is firm.”
Subsequently, attorney Denys Barrow addressed the court to announce that his clients were seeking court costs from the appellants, which he did not succeed in securing. In reference to the court’s decision, Barrow said, “That is a judicial determination which reaffirmed, on the merits and not on any technical basis, the considered determination made by his Lordship, the Chief Justice”.
In addressing the court Godfrey Smith had said, “. . . again what is at the heart of this case is the referendum act, which we submit should be regarded as an extremely important piece of legislation, indeed a vital tool in the democratic process and in deepening the democratic process.
“… in relation to the politics of this case, it is true indeed that this case emanates from a fierce political vortex in Belize and indeed has deep political implications, but that is not one and the same thing….”
“… at the heart of the “9th” Amendment is a political question . . . I do not shy away from the assertion that it is a deeply political case; the government thinks it is entitled to clarify, in their words, the law to say that the legislature, the parliament has that law; and they’re supported in that view by a large section of the society. On the other hand, however, there is an equally large section of the society that thinks politicians should not be given that power. So indeed the case is very political and has excited strong political views in a society that is already deeply divided, politically”.
Outside the court room, regarding the court’s judgment on the application for an interim injunction, the Minister of Works, Hon. Anthony “Boots” Martinez told us, “I had no doubt in my mind that the decision would have gone in that way, just from the basic fact of reading and understanding and [being] a part of the National Assembly that says, to change certain portions of the Constitution, you have to have three-quarter majority of the House and we had three-quarters; and also what I need to point out is that three-quarters of the House is representation of the people”.
According to Smith they will press on for the fruition of a referendum on this matter, and he further said that he hopes that after the outcome of the referendum that the government will take into consideration the results, and retract the act.
Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Barrow told us via a short message service (SMS), “I am very happy that the court refused the injunction”.
The (9th), now 8th Amendment, was signed into law yesterday evening by the Governor General.
The amended bill, the PM has said in past interviews with the media, ensures that all public utilities, specifically the telecommunication company, Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL); the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL), and the Belize Water Services Limited (BWSL) remain majority-owned, by the Government of Belize.