A Public Forum on the Legal Opinion Organized by the Bar
Leslie Mendez
Since presenting an updated legal opinion on the Belize/Guatemala dispute and the possibilities of a resolution at the I.C.J., Professor Stephen Vasciannie has been sought after to discuss his findings publicly. That forum will be held on Friday at the Bliss Institute via a Skype conference with the esteemed international lawyer. The forum has been long in the making and Vice President Leslie Mendez of the Bar Association provides details of what to expect from the discussion.
Leslie Mendez, Vice President, Bar Association
“The last executive had indicated that we would be holding an ICJ public forum to discuss the issue after we had obtained the legal opinion from Professor Vasciannie. The legal opinion is now here and so now we have organized a public forum to secure also the participation of Professor Vasciannie via Skype to present his opinion and break it down and simplify it for the public.”
Isani Cayetano
“In respect of what takes place tomorrow, will there be a question and answer session where questions can be taken from those in attendance?”
Leslie Mendez
“Yes, we will be moderating the public forum to help with the mechanics behind liaising with the public and Professor Vasciannie. So the format is that he will make a presentation, he will present his opinion and then we will open the floor for some questions posed directly to him. The purpose is to focus on the legal case, that is what we consider to be where we as the Bar Association to be more relevant. So the angle or the main focus will be the legal case.”
Isani Cayetano
“How does this, from your point of view as an executive of the bar, serve to help Belizeans either in the awareness campaign or the overall public discourse on the Belize/Guatemala claim and its possible resolution?”
Leslie Mendez
“Many of the questions, many of the concerns have to do with understanding the principles of international law and the strength of the case, and also some of the weaknesses of the case. The public wants to know the risk, what are we getting involved in? I also think that we’ve had legal opinions before and they show that Belize has a strong case and so we wanted to have an updated opinion to see if there are new developments from the time that the last opinion was delivered.”
