Appeals Court denies injunction against Chalillo

On Friday the government passed a bill of dubious constitutionality, which seeks to put the Chalillo hydroelectric project beyond the reach of the legal system. But from the looks of things, Chalillo is doing just fine without any help from Belmopan. Today, the Court of Appeal ruled that it had no jurisdiction to grant an injunction to stop construction on the project. BACONGO, the Belize Alliance of Conservation N.G.O.s, had sought to have work halted pending the outcome of an appeal to the Privy Council of previous rulings by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, which upheld B.E.L.’s right to proceed. What BACONGO will do next is not clear. On Monday, however, the Court of Appeal will hear a separate BACONGO petition, this time against the Public Utilities Commission, for its alleged violation of the third master agreement signed with B.E.L.. Justice Christopher Blackman had previously ruled against BACONGO a year ago and ordered the environmental group to pay all legal costs for both sides.