And while that second wave of unemployment relief and the new program
for MSME's was what the press conference was about, we spent a lot of
time asking about the most recent judgment coming out of the Caribbean
Court of Justice.
That court, the highest in the land, has ruled against Prime Minister
Dean Barrow and his Government for the 2013 nationalization of the
IMMARBE and the International Business Companies Registries. The CCJ
has also ordered that the case is to be sent back to the Supreme Court
for an assessment of damages.
You've heard the perspective of Attorney Eamon Courtenay, who
represented BISL in the many years of litigation over the
nationalization, and Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte, the
Government's chief lawyer. So, what does Prime Minister think of the
judgment? You'll definitely remember that the court was particularly
critical of his government's decision to go in and take control of the
registries.
Here's what he had to say about the court's characterization of his
government's behaviour toward Belize International Services:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"I think Mr. Justice Jamadar offered those criticisms. All I would say
to him is that is one of the disadvantages of a court that is not based
in Belize, staffed by judges that have no idea of local conditions. If
he thought that the government was arrogant in treating the owners of
the ships registry it is because he doesn't know the nature of the
beast. He doesn't know the personalities with which we were dealing. I
would suggest to him that maybe he would like to have a word with the
stevedores and he would get some sense as to why we operate in a
particular manner, vis a vis these people. In terms of the decision
itself, let us be quite clear as to what has happened. Number one, we
won in the supreme court, we won unanimously in the court of appeal,
the CCJ has gone a different route, they are the final court of appeal
and we simply have to accept their ruling although of course we
strongly disagree with it. But if you in fact deconstruct the ruling,
let us understand what has happened. The judges accepted our contention
that that contract was tainted with illegality, in fact that that
contract was unconstitutional. But in effect, what they said: well, the
government ought to have tried to renegotiate the contract to see if it
could be cured of the unconstitutionality. I make the point, they don't
know the animal which we were dealing with."
The Prime Minister also thinks that the Opposition PUP has to publicly
answer for the original agreement with BISL, which the CCJ found to be
"tainted with illegality". From the PM's perspective, there would have
been no need to nationalize the registries if the previous PUP
administration hadn't entered into the original contract and its 2005
extension. Here's how he explained it today:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"We thought, in the circumstances we could. That illegality is
illegality is illegality. How come unconstitutionality can somehow be
gotten around, can be put to one side by the court, or how comes it can
be found that unconstitutionality, something as central as that is not
enough for them to strike down the contract because according to them
that unconstitutionality is the fault of the government. Well, I
utterly disagree with that. But even if they are right, let us
remember, it was the fault of which administration? The People's United
Party administration. Aren't they running to court every minute to talk
about what is unconstitutional and what is in violation of the finance
and audit act. The court found that that contract was in violation of
both, you know. If our decision not to have any form of discussion with
them is seen by one justice as not being the way the government should
behave, as I said, he doesn't know of the particular circumstances.
They, and that's perfectly in order, made no distinction between the
fact that the administration that put an end to the contract is not the
administration in whom they can fix any responsibility for the making
of the illegal contract. The making of that unconstitutional, illegal
contract, illegal in several ways is the full responsibility of the
People's United Party administration. They need to explain to the
people now that there has been that pronouncement and the country ends
up on the hook because we terminated that contract, they need to
explain why they made that contract in the first place and why it is
that we were not absolutely morally obliged to put an end to it."
The Prime Minister is also agreeing with the Attorney General that the
process of assessing the damages owed to Belize International Services
will be protracted and that by then, he will long have stepped down as
the head of government:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"In any event, I am sure that whatever figure the court comes up with will
be appealed, either by the Ashcroft consortium that has won the appeal on
the merits, if they think the award is too small, or by us if we think the
award is too big. That is going to work its way right up the chain again
and end up back in the laps of the CCJ again. By then, of course, I will no
longer be a politician in government."
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