Contempt of court - most of us will probably never be charged with the offence but recent amendments to the law regarding contempt, which now include fines of no less than fifty thousand dollars and or imprisonment of no less than five years, have triggered a constitutional challenge of epic proportions. We say epic because both the Attorney General and the claimants have imported world-renown experts to present their respective cases.
The claimants, comprised of seven persons including Lord Michael Ashcroft, Dean Boyce and Keith Arnold, have hired former Attorney General of the United Kingdom Lord Peter Goldsmith, with Eamon Courtenay as second chair while the eleven interested parties, led by British Caribbean Bank and Belize Bank, have retained human rights lawyer QC Edward Fitzgerald and local attorney Godfrey Smith.
Not to be outdone, Belmopan has retained the services of one of the Commonwealth's leading jurists on Constitutional law, Dr. Lloyd Barnett, assisted by Senior Counsel Lois Young.
An all star cast, for sure, but what are they here to argue about?
Viewers should recall that the amendments were made to the Adjudicature Act, the law governing contempt, following numerous court cases involving business tax arrears for Ashcroft related companies. At that time, the Government asserted that businesses should pay first and argue later.
However, the claimants and interested parties maintain that the significant fines and possible jail terms are unconstitutional, go against the premise of innocent until proven guilty and moreover, insist that the law was changed to attack one man, Lord Michael Ashcroft.
Eamon Courtenay, Claimants Attorney
"It is the type of law that cannot stand up. Why? Because it is directed at one person and one group of people. You make laws for the entire country, not for individuals.
The law is being fixed in such a way that once you've been charged and convicted, the defence that it purports to give you is an artificial defence and people will be convicted. It is a very draconian piece of legislation and it is a piece of legislation that should not be put on the statue books of this country and whether Mr. Barrow likes it or not, I fundamentally disagree both personally and professionally and I'm prepared to fight him."
But the Attorney General's representative, Senior Lois Young, says the position of the claimants and interested parties simply have no standing.
Lois Young, Attorney General's Representative
"The motive is that people are disregarding court orders left, right and centre. The Chief Justice has complained about it many times, the other judges have complained about it."
Janelle Chanona
"Let me just make sure I understand, the other side has said that this is against one person, Lord Ashcroft."
Lois Young, Attorney General's Representative
"The other side has been hysterical. They have behaved, they've said that this is all directed at Lord Ashcroft. This is the first time we've had an admission that Lord Ashcroft is involved in Telemedia because he's always denied it. We've had an admission for the first time that Lord Ashcroft has anything to do with Dunkheld, so I don't understand what they're doing. They are saying that. They are trying to have their cake and eat it. They are trying to deny ownership on behalf of Ashcroft and still say it's directed at him. It's a conflict."
The case is being heard by Justice John Muria and is expected to wrap up on Friday.
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