Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today delivered its final judgment settling a trilogy of post-judgment applications between The Belize Bank Ltd. and the Attorney General of Belize. The CCJ previously authorized the Bank to enforce an international arbitration award of over BZ$36.89 million, plus substantial interest and costs, on November 22, 2017. In the hearing on March 14, 2018, the Court considered Belize Bank’s application to have the CCJ declare that the Minister of Finance had failed to comply with the Court’s 2017 Order and to compel him to pay. The Attorney General had also filed an opposing application on January 26, 2018, disputing whether the CCJ had, or should exercise, jurisdiction to enforce the 2017 Order. In its ruling delivered today, the CCJ determined that the Bank’s application was premature and agreed with the Attorney General that the CCJ was not the appropriate court for enforcement of its judgments in its appellate jurisdiction. Enforcement must be through the Supreme Court, subject to possible appeal to the Court of Appeal and the CCJ.
Following the Court’s November 2017 Order, the Bank served the Minister of Finance, the Honourable Dean Barrow, and the Financial Secretary with a certificate detailing the amounts payable to the Bank, which had been obtained from the CCJ’s Registrar. This was the first step in enforcing the judgment. The day after the certificate was issued, the Bank filed an application before the CCJ requesting orders declaring that the Minister failed to comply with the Court’s Order and compelling him to pay the debt.
In putting forward its case, the Bank contended that the Government would, instead of encouraging its members to comply, allow them to vote according to their conscience on the Appropriation Bill. This, the Bank asserted, would ensure that the Bill would not be passed as there were concerns expressed about the implication of paying this sizeable debt, which had been incurred when the previous government was in power. This Bill must be passed in order for the Government to pay the money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
In delivering judgment, the CCJ first highlighted that its 2017 Order, “did not order the Minister of Finance to satisfy the [arbitration award] or to pay the amount due under the judgment” but merely authorized the Bank to enforce the award “as if it were a judgment of the Supreme Court of Belize.” The Court stated that, barring any evidence to the contrary, courts must presume that Governments will not deprive successful litigants of the fruits of any judgments made against them. The Court went on to say that should the Government fail to pass the Bill for payment of the monies owed, the Bank should seek redress from the Supreme Court of Belize in similar terms to the orders requested in the application. The CCJ noted that such applications may require cross-examination of witnesses which would be more suited for a trial court and not an appellate court. Additionally, the Court would prefer to have the benefit of the views of the courts in Belize on fundamental issues relating to Belizean society and the rule of law in the event that any decision by those courts concerning the enforcement of the award came before it on appeal.
The CCJ dismissed the Bank’s application and awarded costs to the Attorney General. The Court had previously issued on March 21, 2018 a judgment on the other post-judgment application, which sought a reduction in the rate of post-judgment interest on the sum owed.
The applications were determined by the President of the CCJ, the Right Honourable Sir Dennis Byron, and the Honourable Messrs. Justices Saunders, Wit, Hayton and Mme. Rajnauth-Lee. Belize Bank Ltd was represented by Mr Eamon H Courtenay SC and Ms Angeline Welsh, while Dr Ben Juratowich QC, Mr Nigel Hawke, Solicitor General of Belize, and Ms Agassi Finnegan represented the Attorney General.
