Privy Council denies injunction against Chalillo

The Chalillo hydroelectric project is today one step closer to shaking off the legal challenges that have dogged it almost from its inception. This morning the Privy Council in London dismissed the application of the conservation consortium, BACONGO, for an interim injunction to halt construction of the dam on the upper Macal River. The injunction would have stopped the project until the same court could rule on the group’s substantive assertion that the Belize government’s environmental approval of the project was illegal. In today’s written opinion Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, writing for the three-man court, displayed a reluctance to overrule the Belize Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. “Their reasoning and conclusions have not been shown to have been ill-founded,” wrote Lord Walker. In the end the court’s opinion was based on a careful weighing of the consequences of their decision. Again, quoting from the text: “Their Lordships have concluded that the grant of an injunction at this stage would entail a greater risk of ultimate injustice than its refusal.” BACONGO has lost every legal action it has ever initiated against Chalillo. What will likely be their final attempt will be heard by the Privy Council on December third and fourth.