Barbudans Jacklyn Frank and John Mussington say they will not relent in their fight to preserve Barbuda’s heritage and will be renewing their application directly to the Privy Council in London.
This move comes after the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal refused the duo permission to take an application for judicial review to the Privy Council.
The matter concerns a decision by the Government, via the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority, to allow construction of an airport in a part of the sister-island considered to be geologically and environmentally sensitive.
Mussington and Frank were hoping the Privy Council would review a previous Court of Appeal decision that upheld an earlier High Court judgment, which removed an injunction against the construction.
They were seeking conditional leave to appeal to the Privy Council. But in its ruling on Tuesday, October 19, the Appeals Court denied leave, which has now forced the Barbudans to undertake the direct route.
Mussington says that both he and Frank are extremely disappointed with the court’s refusal.
“This case raises fundamental questions of public importance across the whole region, especially who has the right to challenge the Government or big business when it comes to protecting our environment,” a statement from the two says.
Both he and Frank believe the court made a serious error on the issue of standing (locus standi), and that this needs to be considered by the Privy Council.
In August 2018, the pair were granted an injunction and leave to pursue a judicial-review case against the parties for failing to follow the law with regard to the Physical Planning Act, 2003.
Mussington says that their lawyers have already been given instructions to proceed directly to the higher court, since it was anticipated that Barbudans would have to take their fight to London.
Allegations have been made that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted by the developers in November 2017 was seriously inadequate, according to Department of the Environment documents.
Mussington has claimed that the lands on which the airport is being constructed were traditionally used by Barbudans for hunting, farming, grazing, and were the habitat of the rare red-footed tortoise and the feeding grounds for the Barbudan Fallow deer. REAL NEWS
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If Gaston didn’t want to have foreigners occupying Barbuda lands, would $60million so far be spent on an international airport? I guess all the Barbuda lands taken by certain people, including politicians, and registered in Trust when the Barbudans were moved to Antigua after the hurricane have to be developed.
These people need find themselves some work , they have too much extra time on their hands
Wayyyyy too much time on their hands.
You people are very soon going to find yourselves landless. The Chinese are here to stay. Your grandchildren will eventually be their tenants. Think about it
As I have said before these people are looking after themselves they don’t care about Barbuda, they want to keep the wealth with the select few in Barbuda. They don’t want others to get rich like them. They want most of the Barbudians to continue eat and drink and have babies while their families live high on the hog and travel the world. They have money to got Privy Council but won’t spend a dollar in Barbuda to help the less fortunate. Shame!
So true.
I support your move 100%. Let our final court determine the matter. The judges in the subregion appear not to take seriously or appreciate cases dealing with environmental degradation and destruction. Except for Justice Indra Charles (who is now a judge in the Bahamas) who gave a landmark judgment in an environmental case in the British Virgin Islands, our judges do not appreciate the justiciability of such matters. I hope the Privy Council hear this matter. The environment cannot be recklessly destroyed in pursuit of development and there is no recourse for such destruction.
I just wonder what you will say when the Privy Council rejects their case. or handed down the same judgement as the Appeals Court
FROM THE SIDELINE we will just have to wait and see if the matter ever gets to the Privy Council.
Reading this article I could not help but remember when former PM BS took the government to court over the Asian Village project. He claimed the lands should be left untouched for environmental reasons. The judges saw though his deceit. Years later the same man gave the Green light to Stanford to develop same lands. The difference was he was PM now hence the lands could now be developed. Those filing this lawsuit are known political operatives. If this project happened under the UPP, they woudd be at the opening, drinking wine and heralding it as a great accomplishment for Barbuda. Except of the case involving BS:
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL
CIV. APP. NO.20A OF 1997
BETWEEN:
BALDWIN SPENCER
Appellant
and
THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
First Respondent
LESTER BRYANT BIRD
Second Respondent
ASIAN VILLAGE ANTIGUA LIMITED
Third Respondent
Para 10
Alleges that the proposed development is harmful to the ecology and
“is contrary to common law principles which protect the environment”. This
paragraph does not identify the common law principles to which it refers nor
were any advanced or particularised by counsel in agreement. Even learned
Counsel Cosmos Phillips Q.C. conceded that he could not identify a cause of
action raised in this paragraph. (See for example R v Secretary of State for the Environment, ex. Greenpeace (1994) 4 A.E.R. 352 at 376). I agree
with the learned trial Judge that there is no scintilla of a cause of action herein
Missington and Jaqui can find council money to higher lawyer for privy council but council can’t find money to pay salary and wages on a timely manner. What do you say to something like that.
It’s about time the eyes of the Barbuda people get opened and they start asking the right questions. Who is paying for all these legal fees that the council is incurring?
Sideline
Do you own lands in Barbuda? Most likely, all the people in the upper echelons of the Labour Party do. Are you one of these or just a pretender?
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