Former government ministers lose C.C.J. case

Florencio Marin Sr.

The Telemedia ruling by the Court of Appeal is not the decision from the court. The Caribbean Court of Justice, the final appellate court, has handed down a decision in favor of the Government of Belize in a case involving former P.U.P. ministers Florencio Marin and Jose Coye.  In January 2009 both men were sued by the government following claims of misfeasance in connection with the transfer of fifty-six parcels of crown land through CHEOP Enterprises. The government claimed that the parcels were acquired at almost a million dollars below the estimated market value and that the business deal conducted was done illegally.  The matter was initially heard before former Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh and both men were vindicated.  However, the Attorney General’s Office applied to the Court of Appeal and that decision was subsequently reversed.

jose coye

While the presiding judges of the C.C.J. agree that the unlawful abuse of authority within central government cannot be found in common law, it disagrees with the decision of the majority on the principles of constitutional or public law.  Instead the C.C.J. is concerned with tort law and the nature and scope of the abuse of power and the appropriate manner in which the State must safeguard its interests in light of such losses.  All be told, justices Michael de la Bastide and Adrian Saunders affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal to reinstate the government’s claim and granted it the cost to appeal.