Chief Justice Benjamin gave his judgement this morning on the application for a Stay against the injunction imposed on the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Government of Belize on 16th April 2013 by Justice Legall.
I was in court and, although the acoustics were bad, I heard the Chief Justice state:
(1) The 6 offshore companies are not subject to the judgement of 16th April 2013 as they did not participate in that case.
(2) The PSAs of those companies, including Princess Petroleum and Providence Energy, were not quashed by Justice Legall. And the companies continued to operate.
(3) The Government's application for a Stay of the injunction was granted. The injunction will be stayed until the hearing on the Appeal against Justice Legall's judgement is heard, based on the Chief Justice's opinion that:
- The appeal has a reasonable chance of success.
- The injunction is hampering the statutory duties of the Ministry.
The Chief Justice stated that a written transcript of the judgement will be available on Monday.
Reporters for several TV stations were at the court today and recorded interviews after the case was concluded for this evening's news.
Just facts. From Belize.
