Madrid has been unable to get a comment from the government about the association’s proposed JP Act, but News Five also posed the question to Minister of Foreign Affairs about the JP crisis. ‘Sedi’ Elrington is a former Attorney General, and was contacted by Madrid during his tenure as A.G. According to Elrington, a more […]
Several legal minds and parliamentarians have publicly opposed the proposed ninth amendment to the Belize Constitution, while government has defended it. To add the voices of our viewers to the conversation, we asked earlier this week if they support the government’s move to prevent the court from reviewing legal challenges to constitutional amendments? Seventy-nine percent […]
Tragedy has struck as a trivial dispute, one that occurs in most families, did not go well for a family in Cotton Tree. Anger turned to rage, and then to murder. Before cool heads could prevail, twenty-one year old Thaddeus Castillo was murdered in Cotton Tree Village. Castillo, who is originally from Belize City, was […]
The ninth amendment bill, on its surface, aims to enshrine the government’s majority control of shares in utilities. But several attorneys, including those from the Human Rights Commission of Belize, the Bar Association of Belize and Senator Godwin Hulse, have all spoken about grave concerns on the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2011. On Wednesday, […]
The bar issued a statement on Wednesday in which it says “the bar does not support the proposed amendment to the extent that it seeks to deny rights of property owners to access the courts to challenge nationalizations.” But according to the Foreign Minister, any aggrieved party would still be able to access the court. […]
In addition to Minister Elrington and the Bar Association, Senator Henry Gordon, who represents the Council of Churches, also spoke about the Proposed Ninth on Open Your Eyes. Gordon said that because of government’s super majority in the House, even if the Senate is granted a thirteenth senator, the ninth amendment would still allow parliamentary […]
The Guatemalan incursions in the Chiquibul Forest have been problematic for years. But in recent weeks, it made the news because illegal logging by the Guatemalans is rampant and they are making their way further into Belizean territory. The organization, Friends for Conservation and Development, has been studying the trends and today released a report […]
According to Manzanero, they have compiled recommendations that can raise finances and improve the management of the forest reserve. Raphael Manzanero “In terms of the analysis that was done, it can be contemplated that we should be able to generate up to one million dollars every year by selling the carbon stocks in the Chiquibul. […]
The Belize Workers Union met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow at his Coney Drive office this afternoon to discuss the issue of shares it holds in the debt-burdened Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.). The employees trust currently owns eighty-one percent of the company, despite not having received dividends for investments in over ten years. With the […]
The country’s constitution has been under much debate and discussion on morning talk shows and nightly newscasts. The proposed ninth amendment is getting its fair share of protest, but earlier today the Bar Association of Belize sent out a twenty-five page concept paper that thoroughly discussed the merits and demerits of the Belize Constitution (Eighth […]
We also asked Marshalleck about the Bar’s position on the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, which is the new hot button issue in G.O.B.’s saga of controversial bills. Jose Sanchez “What is your understanding of the proposed ninth amendment to the constitution?” Jacqueline Marshalleck, President, Bar Association “Ahm, I would prefer at this stage not […]
If the bill is passed into law, it would bar all legal challenges to future constitutional amendments. If you’re still unsure of what it all means, Attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd broke down the legal jargon into a digestible and understandable format on this morning’s Open Your Eyes. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, Attorney “What is being proposed now is […]
The Prosecutorial Reform Index (PRI) is the current in assessment tools developed by experts in criminal law reform at the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). And after months of dialogue with attorneys, judges, police officers, media, and stakeholders in the justice system, the ABA ROLI team, headed by its Country Director, […]
While the ABA ROLI team were examining and questioning members of the judiciary, change was occurring in the system. After the presentation, the President of the Bar offered comments on how public prosecution can be strengthened while the legal advisor for the Ministry of Police and the Police Department said that some training for public […]
The debate is heating up on the newly proposed ninth amendment to the constitution. But there is the eighth amendment which entails the controversial and dreaded preventative detention. Last Wednesday, the prime Minister told News Five that the eighth was chilling in the refrigerator, but today, Cabinet decided to send the eighth to the garbage […]
A new Chief Justice has been named to succeed Abdulai Conteh whose tenure was cut short last September and is now on serving on the Bahamian Court of Appeal. The new chief justice is a Caribbean national of Guyanese/Antiguan nationality. Justice Kenneth A Benjamin will begin official duties on September fifteenth. He takes the bench […]
The fate of the sugar industry has been the subject of several high level meetings over the past week. The Honduras based Banco Atlántida has proposed a buyout of majority shares in the Belize Sugar Industry, an investment of ninety million US dollars that could make the difference to keep the mill grinding. Who controls […]
The employees trust comprises the Belize Workers Union, which owns eighty-one percent of Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. The union is led by Harris Patten and it is holding a special meeting with Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the issue of shares its membership owns in the beleaguered company. Patten says that […]
As we said, Public Consultation on the Ninth Amendment Bill will begin in the next two weeks; the Eighth Amendment Bill, however, has now been formally withdrawn. And though several attorneys from different sides of the political divide have expressed their concern regarding the Ninth Amendment Bill, News Five posed the question to Godwin Hulse, […]
At Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Dean Barrow introduced a dangerous amendment to the constitution that is also being described as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the heels of the nationalization of B.E.L. and the re-nationalization of Telemedia, the PM made it clear that measures would be implemented to enshrine […]
The calls to put an end to the ninth amendment bill, does not start or stop with Oscar Sabido. Attorney Arthur Saldivar says although many Belizeans may find government control of utilities acceptable, how the bill seeks to bring about that control is appalling. The bill calls for amending sections two and sixty-nine of the […]
Arthur Saldivar’s objections were heralded by Hubert Elrington, another attorney that often speaks out on constitutional issues. Elrington sat at his side in a joint interview and put the proposed amendment into further context. He said that if passed, the National Assembly is going to have power that will exceed that of the constitution. Whoever […]
A Salvadoran laborer of Altamira, Corozal Town was murdered and is believed to have been dumped on a farm between Santa Clara and Buena Vista on the Northern Highway. Santos Alberto Ramirez was out drinking with friends on Saturday night but he never returned home. His body, bearing multiple stab wounds, was discovered on Sunday […]
A French national remains in police custody tonight after pulling a practical joke in mid-air during a flight from the United States en route to Belize. Delta Flight 4345 carrying a total of seventy-one passengers arrived at the Philip Goldson International Airport shortly after eleven o’clock this morning carrying what officials believed to be an […]
Tonight’s question is: Do you support the government’s move to prevent the court from reviewing legal challenges to constitutional amendments? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
