And in news relating to the ongoing Cruise Port disputes over - Stake Bank enterprises won a victory in the Appeal Court today. They had challenged Portico's approval from the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, NEAC at the Supreme Court in October of 2022.
High Court Justice Lisa Shoman found that Stake Bank filed its challenge to Portico's environmental clearance outside the prescribed fourteen days.
But, now today, a panel of Appeal Court judges found that the claim was filed within the prescribed time.
It may seem like a procedural victory, but it gives Stake Bank an in to overturn the NEAC Environmental Approval. We spoke with Stake Bank's attorney William Lindo today:
William Lindo, Co-Counsel, Stake Bank Enterprises Limited
"This morning the court of appeals heard arguments from all the parties and later this morning they handed down their oral decision allowing Stake Bank's appeal and remitting the matter back to the high court for hearing of the substantive for judicial review. That is the challenging NEAC and DOE's approval of Portico's environmental clearance."
Jules Vasquez
"When I had Mike Feinstein on the show recently, he said that he was confident that the NEAC approval of the Portico project will be overturn. Is this a step in that direction?"
William Lindo, Co-Counsel, Stake Bank Enterprises Limited
"This is certainly a step towards that direction. So what it now means is that we go back to the high court for them to determine whether or not Portico's environmental clearance will be quashed."
Stake Bank's claim for Judicial Review is against the Government of, the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, and the Department of the Environment. Stake Bank's argument is that granting clearance to Portico would affect its economic interests when - in its 2017 Definitive Agreement - government undertook to preserve and enhance those interests.
A release from the company says, quote, "the substantive case seeks to quash the Environmental Clearance Plan entered into between DOE and Portico Enterprise Limited on April 9, 2021, which is six months after the much maligned "Definative" Agreement was signed on October 1, 2020. In that so called agreement, (Portico )claimed…that they had already secured their ECP, clearly that was fraudulent misrepresentation…The ECP is the primary condition precedent for any such Definitive Agreement to be signed with the Government for projects of this magnitude."
Stake Bank "therefore warns the Government of Belize to refrain from any further negotiation/s with PEL since a live and formidable challenge to their ECP is back in the High Courts of Belize." End quote.
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