B.C.B. and Prize Holdings Initiate International Arbitration Against Belize
Belize is headed to international arbitration following a claim that has been brought British Caribbean Bank Limited and Prize Holdings International Limited. Both companies are affiliated with Lord Michael Ashcroft. The notice of arbitration was filed on April third and lists Prime Minister John Briceño as the respondent. This is in respect of government’s refusal to permit environmental clearance for the proposed expansion of the Port of Belize Limited, as well as the construction of a cruise port terminal. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Under an agreement for the promotion and protection of investments, signed between the governments of the United Kingdom and Belize in 1982, the British Caribbean Bank and Prize Holdings International Limited have filed a notice of arbitration against the Briceño administration. Invoking the Bilateral Investment Treaty succeeds government’s refusal to grant environmental clearance for the proposed cruise port terminal and bulk cargo facility project at the Port of Belize. In January 2022, a letter was delivered to the Government of Belize indicating that if both parties could not arrive at an amicable agreement within three months, the principals of the Port of Belize would have the right to submit the dispute to international arbitration. This falls under Article Eight of the Bilateral Investment Treaty. Another letter was sent to G.O.B. a year later, making note of the developments since the notice of dispute; by then, however, the matter had already been compounded and made worse. Prize Holdings International Limited is registered in Turks and Caicos, a British overseas territories, and owns the Belize Port Ltd., as well as the Port of Belize Ltd., exclusively. As such, it indirectly owns land and infrastructure in and around Port Loyola and the Port of Belize through its subsidiaries.
In September 2022, Prime Minister Briceño told reporters that it was Lord Michael Ashcroft’s right, as anyone else, to take government to arbitration.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: September 13th, 2022)
“That’s his right, anybody can take us to arbitration. In this case I don’t think its arbitration, he said that he was considering and he’s not done it so far. Suing government using the treaty between Great Britain and Belize about, for want of a better word, freedom for investments and he felt that Waterloo was not being given a fair shot and that’s his right like any other citizen but in this case him being a British citizen also taking advantage of that treaty that was signed by both countries.”
In December 2022, Waterloo Investment Holdings, which at the time was the parent company for the Port of Belize Ltd., launched an appeal of the Department of Environment’s decision to refuse environmental clearance for the port expansion project. At the time, Prime Minister John Briceño, who is now listed as the respondent in the matter, told reporters that government could not uphold the present circumstances at the Port of Belize. For reference, here is that sound bite.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: December 22, 2022)
“We have to wait until, I think, it is the twenty-first, probably today, up until today, I think the Port of Belize or Waterloo have to appeal the judgment. So we want to wait and see what happens. But certainly, we cannot keep the status quo at Port of Belize. An investment has to be done to fix the, if there is no cruise terminal, the container/cargo terminal has to be upgraded. That is not a matter of it will be done. It has to be done, either by the receiver or a new set of investors will come in, or if government may some day, we are not there. The important thing is that we have to finish off the process.”
B.C.B. and Prize are represented by a battery of lawyers from Essex Court Chambers and Clifford Chance LLP, respectively, both based in London. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
