Barbudans Win Appeal Against ABAA

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Barbuda’s John Mussington and Jacklyn Frank have won an appeal to have the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority (ABAA) reinstated as the party deserving blame in an application for judicial review.

The court of appeals of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) reversed the decision of High Court Justice Rosalyn Wilkinson unanimously.

Wilkinson had to decided to strike out the ABAA in an ongoing case to halt construction of a new airport in Codrington, Barbuda.

The ECSC has alsoruled against the judge’s decision to pay costs of $1,000.00 to the Authority.

Lead attorney for the Barbudans, Leslie Thomas, QC said, “Thankfully, the court of appeals cut through the nonsense with the government’s attorneys’ overly technical arguments.’

He said that Dame Janice Pereira, Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, made it clear that “In the pursuit of justice, procedure is the servant and not the master.”

According to sources who attended the court ruling on Thursday September 19, “the court accepted all Barbuda’s arguments and rejected all of the ABAA’s submissions.”

This latest win is one in a series of legal actions being taken by the Barbudans against the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.  The action began on August 2, 2018 when High Court judge, Rosalyn E. Wilkinson, instructed that all construction on the international airport in Barbuda be stopped immediately, until further notice.

In September 2018, via video conference, with the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal sitting in St Lucia, a judgement was handed down to lift the injunction on the construction of the Barbuda airport.

While Frank’s and Jacklyn’s lawyer immediately moved to file a second injunction in the matter, the government regarded it as a victory and lawyers defending the Airport Authority applied to have the entity stricken as a defendant in the case, leaving only defendants, the Development Control Authority (DCA) and the Attorney General, Steadroy Benjamin.

The Barbudans built their case on caims that each of the defendants had failed to follow the proper planning procedures in accordance with the Physical Planning Act 2003.

The details of the legal action reveal multi-department failure to comply with regulations, including failure to complete required environmental impact assessments (EIAs), incomplete submission of proposed plans, failure to receive Barbuda Council approval of the proposed plans, and instances where the government ignored its own reports of risk to the island.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. Well you know that this government is an amendment government, back to parliament and the eyes have it government 😂😂😂

  2. This case was so straight forward and it really eludes me that a judge would actually have given judgement to the continuation of the airport in Barbuda to this government, but it brings me back to the old saying that, where you tie, that is where you feed.

  3. My PM is so stubborn. He wants to give Barbudans development they do not want. Stop wasting your time and money. They will never be grateful anyway. Just remind them when they come begging for money that they will not get any because they are not for development. Let them sort out for themselves. Cut your losses and get out of there. You do not need Barbuda to make a Cabinet. 16 constituencies here is enough. Leave them behind Gods back.

    • You will be left behind gods back for that comment and the ones after this!! No wonder yall place look and smell so because yall are a bunch of inconsiderate assholes. BARBUDA AND ITS PEOPLE ARE PART OF ANTIGUA LIKE IT OR NOT!!!

    • You like to use this word ” begging” a lot, but it must have slipped your memory that it was Barbudans who first launched the go-fund-me to help Barbuda.
      The Succana Vulture you call PM only came running because he smelt the ink on new money.
      Your audacity to bring your irrelevant IQ to the public in yet another “red-cheque” appeal to keep your membership of a government who STOLE funds is not at all surprising to me. Go ask Gaston Browne to publicly reveal how much money is in the ” special account” …yes! You heard me right!..the same account that is over 37 years old to which ALL revenue submitted by Barbuda to the Central Government Treasury has been held for times of need.
      Go ask your PM where all the stamp money Barbuda is entitled to has gone?…but like my grandfather would say, you can’t ask a jackass how to put on a saddle if it’s never worn one and a nuhmark nuh hab nuh history!..I’m a BARBUDAN and ours is documented!.

  4. We na understand why the F wouldn’t the Central government of Antigua give Barbuda secession, how can any civilized developing society move forward with lawsuits to halt everything. Tired a hearing this BS. Let the dam people go, they are primitive and ungrateful and some are very dumb if you ask me . WTF man

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