Last night we had interviews from the Prime Minister on a broad range of subjects. What we didn't air though were his comments on the 43 million dollar arbitral award which is pending enforcement by the Belize and British Caribbean Banks. Enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court just before Christmas and it would spell absolute disaster for the government.
That's why drumming up an appeal has been a high priority.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister told us that the government filed a hefty appeal yesterday and will then request a stay of the judgment.
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I was sent a draft of the grounds of appeal from our counsel Mr. Michael Young last night and I see that he is up to 14 grounds and I am told that it won't even stop there. The reading of the judge is yielding such tremendous bounty in terms of the legal principles...but that will be filed today and then it is on the back of that that you make the application for the stay, you have to in going for the stay show that you have a reasonable prospect of success in the appeal and so you must do the grounds of appeal first and so that's filde today, the next one perhaps tomorrow. I am reluctant to appear to be in any way disrespectful of Mr. Justice Muria, but when he will say for example that on this question of public policy - you establish public policy if you show that the agreement that led to the award that is now being sought to be enforced would have shocked the public consciousness - and that he didn't think that that kind of arrangement would shock the Belizean public consciousness. I have to say that I am confident that our prospects on appeal are absolutely encouraging and I will leave it there."
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