C.C.J. Says Belize Evidence Insufficient in Case against Trinidad

E. Andrew Marshalleck

The Caribbean Court of Justice ruled that there were severe shortcomings in the evidence offered by Belize to substantiate the allegations made against the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Senior Counsel Marshalleck responded to the court’s ruling.

E. Andrew Marshalleck, S.C., Attorney for Belize

“What the court ruled is that the quality of the evidence offered by Belize as to those allegation didn’t come to prove that, it wasn’t sufficient to cast a burden on Trinidad to have to explain what happened, which is what we had argued in the proceedings before the court, that we were able to rely on circumstantial evidence and that would shift the burden to Trinidad to explain, to offer proof of what has happened, to show that they didn’t import brown sugar without charging the C.E.T. The proof that Belize offered was some shipments from Guatemala and Honduras. It was gathered by some personnel from BSI, largely from some data bases that are kept by regional producers in Guatemala, Central America. Unfortunately, that database was not verified before the court. So, it didn’t meet the requisite quality.”