Bar Association says remove 3rd offensive clause from 9th Amendment

The Council of Churches has played a major role in the government’s removal of certain ouster clauses that bars access to the courts in the proposed ninth amendment. But the Bar Association of Belize, another powerful group, is maintaining its position against the ninth. In a release today, the Bar recognizes the Church’s efforts, but says that only two of the three offensive provisions were removed and that the third also needs to be struck out.  The release points out that the government has not agreed to delete the proposed amendment to Section two, which is the supreme law clause of the constitution or the remainder of the proposed section sixty-nine (nine). According to the Bar, the bill even after the revisions still seeks to amend section two and section sixty-nine to provide that amendments to the constitution by the legislature will not be capable of being found to be inconsistent with the constitution. The release says, “Essentially the legislature can pass any amendment to the constitution that it wishes and so long as government in doing so, complies with the procedural requirements under section sixty-nine of the Constitution, the amendment must stand.” The Bar goes on to urge the government not to amend Sections two and Section sixty-nine until the Caribbean Court of Justice has determined a definitive interpretation of the supreme law clause.