Court of Appeal upholds wall verdict

The Belize Court of Appeal has upheld the Supreme Court judgement against the Belize City Council for breaking down the wall surrounding the house of Brian Brown. According to Brown’s attorney, Dean Barrow, while the Court of Appeal did not agree that the statutory instrument under which the fence was demolished was ultra vires, it did agree that the action was unconstitutional and ordered the verdict to stand. The City Council will have to restore the fence, pay Brown twenty thousand dollars in damages, five thousand dollars in original legal fees, plus bear the additional costs of Brown’s appeal defence. Brown, believed by the police to be involved in criminal activity, was targeted under a law declaring maximum heights for city fences. Others with illegal fences, including at least one city councillor, were left unscathed.