Fortis application to join as interested party is dismissed

Denys Barrow

The decision of the CCJ is to stay the appeal until the challenge of the second nationalization and the eighth amendment is determined by the Belize court; that trial is set to begin on March twelfth, 2012. Fortis, the former Canadian owner of the Belize Electricity Limited from whom the government, appropriated the utility company, also sought to join in the case as an interested party in December. The court denied that application and no order was made in respect of court costs.

Denys Barrow, Attorney for Government

“Fortis wanted to just jump into the CCJ.  They have a claim in relation to the acquisition of B.E.L.  They are entitled as a matter of law to bring that challenge to the Supreme Court but Fortis learned that there was this appeal from the Court of Appeal to the CCJ and they learned that or thought that the appellants would possibly be able to bring in the 2011 legislation, the reacquisition and the constitutional amendment and Fortis said “well hold on, if that wah argue we want to be part of that argument so allow us to intervene in that appeal so that we too can argue this issue.  The CCJ having decided that it will stay this appeal from the Court of Appeal everything is stayed and Fortis’ application to be allowed to intervene is dismissed because this appeal is not going anywhere now at this stage.”

B.E.L. was nationalized by government on June twentieth, 2011.