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Shelly Whitney Scott v AG Belize [2021] BZSC 21 (1 March 2021)
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BELIZE A.D. 2020
CLAIM NO 297 OF 2020
(BETWEEN
(
(SHELLY WHITNEY SCOTT
( (AND (
(ATTORNEY GENERAL OF BELIZE
(
CLAIMANT
DEFENDANT

Before: The Hon Justice Westmin R.A. James Dated 1st March 2021
Appearances: Mr Leeroy Banner for the Claimant
Mr Kileru Awich and Ms Lavina Cuello for the Defendant DECISION ON STRIKING OUT
- Before
the Court for its determination is the Notice of Application filed by the
Defendant on 3rd July in which an order is sought to strike out the
Claimant's Fixed Date Claim Form filed on 26th May, 2020.
- The
Notice of Application is premised primarily on the ground that the Claim is an
abuse of the Court's process and the Defendant
asserts that the Claimant had an
alternate form of redress and could have instituted a claim for false
imprisonment and malicious
prosecution.
- Accordingly,
this Court must determine whether or not the Claimant's claim amounts to an
abuse of process and should be struck out.
- It
is well established that the right to apply to the Supreme Court pursuant to
section 20 of the Constitution should be exercised
only in exceptional cases
where there is a parallel remedy. The decisions of the Privy Council in Jaroo
v Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [2002] UKPC 5;Attorney General
of Trinidad and Tobago v Ramanoop [
2005] UKPC 15; [2005] 2 WLR 1324
Harrikissoon v
Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago [1979] UKPC 3; [1980] AC 265; Chokolingo v
Attorney General of Trinidad
and Tobago [1981] 1 WLR 106 and Hinds v The Attorney General
[2001] UKPC 56 have all establish this point. In this jurisdiction the Court
acknowledges the dictum of Saunders JCCJ as he then was in Lucas &
Carillo v Chi(;f Education Ojficer et al, that constitutional redress
should not be afforded, where a remedy in private law exists.
- The
Court is aware however, that the mere existence of an alternative remedy does
not automatically warrant excluding constitutional
proceedings. The crux is
their adequacy. As stated by Sharma CJ in Belfonte v A-G (2005) 68 WIR
413 at [18] and relied on in Lucas (supra) at [138] "the determining
factor in deciding whether there has been an abuse cf process is not merely the
existence cf a parallel remedy, but
also the assessment that the allegations
grounding constitutional relfrf are being brought for the sole purpose cf
avoiding the normal
judicial remedy for unlauJul administrative action.'
ff
- In
Ramanoop (supra) the Court said
25. In other words, where there is a parallel remedy constitutional relfrf
should not be sought unless the circumstances cf which
complaint is made include
some feature which makes it appropriate to take that course. As a general rule
there must be some feature
which, at least arguably, indicates that the means cf
legal redress otherwise available would not be adequate. To seek constitutional
relfrf in the absence cf such a feature would be a misuse, or abuse, cf the
court's process. A typical, but by no means exclusive,
example cf a special
feature would be a case where there has been an arbitrary use cf state
power.
26 That said, their Lordships hasten to add that the need for the courts to
be vigilant in preventing abuse cf constitutional proceedings
is not intended to
deter citizens from seeking constitutional redress where, acting in good faith,
they believe the circumstances
cf their case contain a feature which renders it
appropriate for them to seek such redress rather than rely simply on alternative
remedies available to them. Frivolous, vexatious or contrived invocations cf the
facility cf constitutional redress are to be repelled.
But "bona fide resort to
rights under the Constitution ought not to be discouraged. ff
- Therefore,
the power to decline jurisdiction arises only where the alternative means of
redress is considered to be adequate. If there
is an adequate parallel remedy,
constitutional relief is only appropriate where some additional "feature"
presents itself. This includes,
without being exhaustive, arbitrary use of
state
power1 or where there are breaches of multiple rights.2 In
Belfonte (supra) Chief Justice Sharma, in giving an example of a special
feature which could take a case out of the Jaroo substantive limitation,
stated:
Another example cf a special feature would be a case where several rights are
in fringed, some cf which are common law rights and
some for which protection is
available only under the constitution. It would not be fair, convenient or
conducive to the proper administration
cf justice to require an applicant to
abandon his constitutional remedy or to file separate actions for the
vindication cf his rights.
- The
Court must therefore evaluate the case and determine whether there is an
adequate parallel remedy and if so whether there were
any special features of
this case that will allow for the matter to continue.
The Claim
- The
Claimant seeking the following constitutional reliefs
- A
Declaration that actions cf members cf the Belize Police Department as agents cf
the State by arresting and charging the Claimant
for the CJfences cf Kept
Firearm and Kept ammunition without a licence contrary to 3(1), 5, 32(1), 32(4)
and 37(1)(d) cf the Firearm
Act Chapter 143 cf the substantive laws cf Belize
Revised Edition 2011 with no reasonable and probably cause which lead to her
incarceration
was contrary to section 5(1)£ cf the Constitution
specifically relating to the Claimant's right not to be unlaufully deprived
cf
her liberty;
- A
Declaration that actions cf members cf the Belize Police Department as agents cf
the State by arresting and charging the Claimant
for the CJfences cf Kept
Firearm, Kept Prohibited Firearm and Kept Ammunition without a Licence, contrary
to 3(1), 5, 32(1), 32(4)
and 37(1)(d) cf the Firearm Act Chapter 143 cf the
substantive laws cf Belize Revised Edition 2011 with no reasonable and probably
cause which lead to her incarceration was contrary to section 6(1) and 6(3)(a)
cf the Constitution specifically relating to the Claimant's
to be presumed
innocent until proven guilty;
- A
Declaration that the actions cf the members cf the Belize Police Department as
agents by arresting and charging the Claimant for
the CJfences cf Kept Firearm,
Kept Prohibited Firearm and Kept Ammunition without a Licence, contrary
to
1 Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago v
Ramanoop [2005] UKPC 2005; Takitota v AG l
[2009]
UKPC11
2 Beifonte v Attorney General [1968] W.I.R. 416 (CA TT)
3(1), 5, 32(1), 32(4) and 37(1)(d) cf the Firearm Act Chapter 143 cf the
substantive laws cf Belize Revised Edition 2011 with no reasonable
and probably
cause which lead to her incarceration was contrary to section 3(a) cf the
Constitution spec,jically relating to the
Claimant's right to protection cf the
law which is premised on fundamental notions cf justice and the Rule cf Law;
- A
Declaration that the state violated Rule cf Law based on the Supreme Court
decision in the case cf Allyson Major Sr v The AG and
Brea Bowen v the AG cf
Belize Claim No 493 cf 2017 in which similar actions by agents cf the State was
found to be in breach cf the
Constitution and the State has a Constitutional
duty to prevent a continued breach cf the law by its servants
- Compensatory
as well as vindicatory damages based on the breach cf the Claimant right to
protection cf the law;
f An order that damages be assessed;
- Special
Damages $4000.00
- Interest
z. Costs
J· Such cf all reliefs as the Court just and equitable;
- The
Claimant indicated that on the 15th May 2019, she was charged for the
offences of Kept Firearm without a Licence, Kept Prohibited Firearm without a
Gun Licence, and Kept
Ammunition without a Licence (two counts) as a consequence
of her Belize Social Security Card being found in a house where the weapons
and
ammunition were found. The Claimant was incarcerated at the Kolbe Foundation
from May 15th 2019 to 24th May 2019 when she was granted
bail by the Supreme Court.
- The
Claimant was charged but the charges were withdrawn and discontinued by the
prosecution on 11th November, 2019. The Claimant alleges that there
was no connection between the Claimant and the firearms.
- The
Defendant's evidence was that of Police Constable Amiel Cantun. PC Cantun was
one of the arresting officers that day. He deposed
that on 15th May
2019 there was an anonymous caller about the whereabouts of a stolen motorcycle.
The information revealed that the stolen motorcycle
was located at a red and
white board house board house situated opposite of the Roaring Creek cemetery on
top of the hill in Roaring
Creek Village, Cayo District. He indicated that he,
WPC Clara Michael and Special Constable Wynmark Emmanuel all went to the
location.
- He
deposed that when they went to the house, the front door was closed. One officer
went to the back door and he pushed the front
door because he heard a
noise which turned out to be a fan. With the front door open he was able to see
to the back door where the other officer was standing.
He and Special Constable
Emmanuel entered the house while WPC Michael stood outside. He said when he went
into the bedroom he noticed
a 16 gauge double barrelled sawed off shot gun with
cartridges on a dresser and a black 9mm Glock pistol laying on the floor near
the bedroom door. There was no one inside the house.
- He
said that the officers called for a Justice of the Peace and when the Justice of
the Peace along with Scene of Crime Technician
arrived at the premises, he
conducted a full search of the premises. He indicated that he found two social
security cards, one belonging
to the Claimant and another belonging to a female
minor. He also found a cell phone along with adult and children female clothing
in the house. When they concluded the search and seized the items they
left.
- The
officer then indicated that when driving down the hill where the house was
located, they stopped at another house. He said that
WPC Michael approached a
female that was standing on the veranda of another house located in the same
yard and called her by her
name. He indicated that in his presence she asked the
female if she knew who lived in the house at the top of the hill and she
responded
she lived there.
- He
indicated that the Claimant was then taken to the police station and charged
with the offence of "Kept Firearm without a Gun License,
Kept Ammunition without
a gun licence" and "Kept Prohibited Firearm." The PC indicated that he had
reasonable suspicion that the
Claimant was keeping the firearms that were found
in the house due to the fact that her Social Security Card was found in the
bedroom
where the firearms were found, and no other identification document for
any other person with the age of criminal responsibility
was found in the house.
Furthermore, the bedroom had female clothing only.
- He
said he then handed over the case to the Prosecution Branch who he later was
informed withdrew the charges against the Claimant.
- Importantly,
PC Cantun indicated in paragraph 25 of his Affidavit that "the Claimant was
not treated d,Jferently from any other similarly circumstanced comparator or
person in whose address unlicensed
firearms and ammunition and prohibited
firearms are found." He later goes on to say in paragraph 28 that "the
Claimant was not arbitrarily singled out for adverse treatment or arrest and
charge. Furthermore, the Claimant's arrest and charge
was done under the
provisions cf the Firearms Act Cap 143 cf the Substantive Laws cf Belize
currently in force and not under the
repealed provisions
cf the Firearms Act; the application cf which was ruled to be contrary to the
Rule cf Law in Claim 478 cf 2014 Allyson Major Sr v
Attorney General cf Belize
and Claim 493 cf 2017 Brhea Bowen v The Attorney General cf Belize. ff
Analysis
- In
relation to the arrest and charge of the Claimant I am constrained to agree with
the Applicant that there is indeed a parallel
remedy available to the Claimant
in false imprisonment and unlike in Brhea Bowen v AG of Belize there was
no judicial act which gave rise to the Claimant's arrest that would have
prevented the use of that remedy. The Claimant
would not be precluded from
seeking relief through a false imprisonment claim because the Magistrate was
obligated to remand the
Claimant as a matter of law under the Crime Control and
Criminal Justice Act and Act No 25 of 2003 and so did not and could not exercise
any decisional freedom when remanding the Claimant into custody. I also accept
the Defendant's contention that as stated in AG v Margaret Bennet et al
the CA held that damages were recoverable in a claim for false imprisonment
not only for the original arrest but also whilst the Appellants
were on remand
in custody.
- The
Applicant also submitted that the Claimant had an adequate parallel remedy in
malicious prosecution. The Applicant submitted that
the Claimant would have no
difficulty in establishing malice in a claim for malicious prosecution because
the Defendants cannot proffer
the argument that malice cannot as a matter of law
be established since the prosecution was effected in furtherance of a valid and
subsisting law. The Applicant argued that the argument that the prosecution was
effected in furtherance of a valid and subsisting
law was a special feature in
Brhea Bowen v AG of Belize (supra) which made it
appropriate for the Court to allow that Claim to be pursued as a constitutional
claim. The Applicant argues that once
the claimant establishes that there was no
reasonable suspicion for her arrest, she can rely on the lack of reasonable
suspicion
to establish malice in relation to her alleged malicious
prosecution.
- I
however disagree with the Applicant in this regard. While the Applicant
indicated in submissions that the prosecution was not effected
in furtherance of
a valid law permitting arrest. The evidence submitted by the Applicant from PC
Cantun in paragraph 28 was that
"the Claimant's arrest and charge was done
under the provisions cf the Firearms Act Cap 143 cf the Substantive Laws cf
Belize currently
in force. ff PC Cantun also indicated that he had
reasonable suspicion that the Claimant had committed the offences of 'Kept
Firearm without a
gun licence, Kept Prohibited Firearm and kept ammunition
without a fun licence consistent with
any person in whose address unlicensed firearms and ammunition and prohibited
firearms are found.
- The
Applicant also contends once a lack of reasonable suspicion is proven malice in
relation to alleged malicious prosecution is proven.
The Applicant presented no
authority for this proposition and it in fact goes against the trend of cases in
this area.
- It
is settled law that in a claim for malicious prosecution, the claimant must
prove
(a) that the law was set in motion on a charge for a criminal offence by the
defendant, (b) that he was acquitted of the charge or
that the proceedings were
otherwise determined in his favour, (c) that in instituting and continuing the
prosecution the defendant
did so without reasonable and probable cause, (d) that
the defendant was actuated by malice and (e) as a consequence the claimant
suffered damage. Failure to establish any one or more of these requirements will
result in the claimant losing his action for malicious
prosecution. While these
there is overlap between malice and reasonable and probable cause they are
separate requirements for the
Claimant to prove.
- Where
a police officer had a belief even if wrongly that they had a reasonable and
probable suspicion without proof of some further,
you may not be able to show
malice. In Sibbons v Sandy, [TT 1983 HC 87] it
appeared that the police constables did believe, though they had no reasonable
or probable cause for so believing,
that the claimant committed the offence. The
Court held that if it can't be shown to
have 'acted with any wrong or indirect motive', they were not liable for
malicious prosecution. Similarly, in Paul v Attorney General [TT 1998 HC
71], Bharath J held that a constable who had laid a charge of larceny against
the claimant had
acted incautiously and imprudently, but since there was no evidence of a motive
to 'pull the plaintiff down', malice had not been
established.
- Further,
in the Privy Council decision of Sandra Juman v The Attorney
General of Trinidad and Tobago [2017] UKPC 3 a case where the
claimants were charged on suspicion of unlawful possession of firearms and
ammunition found at premises, shows how
difficult it is to prove malice. The PC
held
"The essence cf malice was described in the leading judgment in Willers v
Joyce at para 55:
"As applied to malicious prosecution, it requires the claimant to prove that
the dtfendant deliberately misused the process cf the
court. The most obvious
case is where the claimant can prove that the dtfendant brought the
proceedings in the knowledge that they were without foundation ... But
the authorities show that there may be other instances cf abuse. A person, for
example, may be indiJferent whether the allegation
is supportable and may bring
the proceedings, not for the bona fide purpose cf trying that issue, but to
secure some extraneous benefit
to which he has no colour cf a right. The
critical feature which has to be proved is that the proceedings instituted by
the d(fendant
were not a bona fide use cf the court's process. ff
19. A failure to take steps which it would be elementary for any reasonable
person to take btfore instituting proceedings might in
some circumstances serve
evidentially as a pointer towards deliberate misuse cf the court's process, but
sloppiness cf itse1f is
very diJferent from malice. In the present case there
was no cause to doubt that the first respondent believed, rightly or wrongly,
that there were suJficient grounds to prosecute, or that the object cf charging
the appellant was to place the matter btfore the
magistrate for the court to
decide the question cf her guilt; and there was no suggestion that he had any
ulterior improper motive.
Even
,f the court had decided that objectively the first respondent lacked
reasonable and probable cause to prosecute the appellant, there
was no basis to
hold that he acted with malice. ff
- Inferring
malice from lack of reasonable and probable cause is rare and in those cases
involving officers in which malice was inferred
usually involved some
determination early on of the person's guilt and an absence of proper motive. In
Jangoo v Gomez, TT 1984 HC 49 it was held that the defendant security
officer'did not honestly believe in the case he had put forward, and, having
regard to the statement made by him upon his arrival at Sankai's office that the
claimant was a thief, the prosecution could be accounted
for only on the basis
of an improper motive. It was both without reasonable and probable cause and
malicious.' In Rowley v Sylvester TT 1985 HC 147 the security guard was
given a reasonable explanation for the presence of the oil in the claimant's car
and who was
willing to take the security guard to prove same but the security
guard refused. The Court believed that the premature belief of
the claimant's
guilt precipitate, less than honest and in any event unreasonable basis for the
arrest. The Court believed that because
of that the guard closed his eyes to the
probability that what the claimant was saying was true. The Court is also
cognizant of the
Privy Council's rejection of equating the failing to carry out
sufficient investigation and malice in Juman (supra). The Privy
Council stated that "the Board would reject the appellant's attempt to treat
the first respondent's alleged failure to carry out suJficient investigation
btfore charging the appellant as amounting or equivalent to malice; or similarly
the attempt to treat "recklessness ff as tantamount
to malice. "Reckless ff is a
word which can bear a variety
cf meanings in diJferent contexts. It is not a suitable yardstick for the
element cf malice in malicious prosecution."
- In
the present case PC Cantun contends that he had reasonable and probable
suspicion based on the discovery of the social security
card, the women's
clothing where the guns were found and the answer the claimant allegedly gave. I
therefore disagree that the Claimant
could easily prove malice by the lack of
reasonable and probable cause. Based on the evidence before the Court at this
stage it is
more likely than not that the Claimant would have a difficulty in
proving malice. Therefore, malicious prosecution would not be an
adequate
alternative remedy.
Protection of the Law and Rule of Law
- The
Claimant in this case also seeks the following declarations
- A
Declaration that the actions of the members of the Belize Police Department as
agents by arresting and charging the Claimant for
the offences of Kept Firearm,
Kept Prohibited Firearm and Kept Ammunition without a Licence, contrary to 3(1),
5, 32(1), 32(4) and
37(1)(d) of the Firearm Act Chapter 143 of the substantive
laws of Belize Revised Edition 2011 with no reasonable and probable cause
which
lead to her incarceration was contrary to section 3(a) of the Constitution
specifically relating to the Claimant's right to
protection of the law which is
premised on fundamental notions of justice and the Rule of
Law;
- A
Declaration that the state violated Rule of Law based on the Supreme Court
decision in the case of Allyson Major Sr v The AG and
Brhea Bowen v the AG of
Belize Claim No 493 of 2017 in which similar actions by agents of the State was
found to be in breach of
the Constitution and the State has a Constitutional
duty to prevent a continued breach of the law by its servants
- The
Claimant alleges that her right to protection of the law was breached as the
State failed to take positive steps from preventing
its agents from applying the
Firearms Act contrary to the law and as a consequence breached the rule of law,
because the state failed
to protect and promote the fundamental right of the
Claimant.
- The
Claimant points to the Supreme Court decisions in the case of Allyson
Major Sr v The Attorney General of Belize Claim No 4789
of 2014 and Brhea Bowen v The Attorney
General of Belize Claimant No 493 of 2017 which found
similar
actions by agents of the state were in breach of the Constitution. No doubt the
Claimant is alleging that there is a practice or
pattern of behaviour on the
part of police officers to arrest a person above the age of criminal culpability
for suspicion of possession
of a firearm by virtue of them living at a premises
or house and the State has not done anything to protect and promote the
citizens'
rights from such arbitrary actions by police officers. This is more
important having regard to the fact that a person is unable to
get bail at the
Magistrate Court for any such offence.
- There
is indeed some basis for this allegation as is contained in the Affidavit of PC
Cantun who said at paragraph 25 that "the Claimant was not treated
d1Jferently from any other similarly circumstanced comparator or person in whose
address unlicensed
firearms and ammunition and prohibited firearms are found."
And then later goes on to say in para 28 that "the Claimant was not
arbitrarily singled out for adverse treatment or arrest and charge. Furthermore,
the Claimant's arrest and charge
was done under the provisions cf the Firearms
Act Cap 143 cf the Substantive Laws cf Belize currently in force." The PC is
therefore indicated that this is the practice of police officers in effecting
arrest under the Firearms Act Cap 143.
- What
the Claimant is alleging is that there is breach of a positive duty of the State
to protect the citizens against arbitrary power
of police officers. Useful dicta
in relation to this right can come from the Inter American Human Rights system
to which Belize is
subscribed to and which has been acknowledged by the CCJ as
relevant in the interpretation of the Belizean Constitution. (See Mayan
Alliance [2015] CCJ 15.)
- The
scope of the juridical concept of positive obligations within the Inter-American
system is decerned from Articles 1 and Article
2 of the American Convention,
which provides as follows:
Article 1
The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and
freedoms recognized herein and to ensure to all persons
subject to their
jurisdiction the free and full exercise cf those rights and freedoms, without
any discrimination for reasons cf
race, color, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth,
or any other
social condition.
Article 2
Where the exercise cf any cf the rights or freedoms nferred to in Article 1
is not already ensured by legislative or other provisions,
the States Parties
undertake to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the
provisions cf this
Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give
EJfect to those rights or freedoms.
- The
Inter American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter American Court of Human
Rights have repeatedly examined the scope of these
provisions in establishing
positive obligations on a state in the realm of human rights. The Inter American
Court, specifically,
has established that
[P]rotection cf the law consists, fundamentally, cf the remedies the law
provides for the protection cf the rights guaranteed by the
Convention. The
obligation to respect and guarantee such rights, which Article 1(1) imposes on
the States Parties, implies, as the
Court has already stated, the duty cf the
States Parties to organize the governmental apparatus and, in general, all the
structures
through which public power is exercised, so that they are capable cf
juridically ensuring the free and full enjoyment cf human
rights.3
- The
Court has reiterated that
( ... ) the general duty under Article 2 cf the American Convention implies
the adoption cf measures cf two kinds: on the one hand,
elimination cf any norms
and practices that in any way violate the guarantees provided under the
Convention; on the other hand, the
promulgation cf norms and the development cf
practices conducive to cJfective observance cf those guarantees. Furthermore,
adoption
cf these measures becomes necessary when there is evidence cf practices
that are violations cf the American Convention in any way.4
- Caribbean
judiciaries seem previously to maintain a conservative and cautious judicial
outlook as oppose to some other common law
constitutional systems such as India
and South Africa in relation to the positive obligations of the State. The once
hesitant approach
to enforceability of positive obligations has been addressed
more recently within the Caribbean, where the courts have recognized
that
constitutional right exert some positive obligations by a State.
3See I/A Court H.R., Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras Case.
Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, paragraph 166; and Godinez
Cruz v. Honduras Case. Judgment of January 20, 1989. Series C No. 5,
paragraph 175.
4 See for eg I/A Court H.R., Castillo Petruzzi et al. v. Peru
Case. Judgment of May 30, 1999. Series C No. 52, paragraph 207; and La
Cantuta v. Peru Case. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November
29, 2006. Series C No. 162, paragraph 172.
- In
the case of Francois v AG [LC 2001 HC 16] Barrow J as he then was stated
that the government had a positive constitutional duty to ensure that there was
adequate
protection against domestic violence in St. Lucia. Pointing out that
there was a 'constitutional imperative' for the state to protect its
citizens he was acknowl edging that the state has a duty to regulate the
behaviour of even non-state
actors and take reasonable steps to prevent human
rights violations. The State therefore has to take preventative measures and
exercise
due diligence.
- The
CCJ have recently articulated the positive duties placed on the state by the
bills of rights in The Maya Leaders Alliance v. AG of Belize [2015] CCJ
15. The right to protection of the law under the Commonwealth Caribbean
constitutions, which is related to the concept of the rule of
law, may impose
positive constitutional obligations on the State vis-a- vis its citizens. The
CCJ indicated that the concept of protection
of the law goes beyond access to
the court but includes the right of the citizen to be afforded 'adequate
safeguards against irrationality,
unreasonableness, fundamental unfairness or
arbitrary exercise of power'. They held that 'the right to protection cf the
law may, in appropriate cases, require the relevant organs cf the State to take
positive action in
order to secure and ensure the enjoyment cf basic
constitutional rights.' They went on to say that 'Where the citizen has
been denied rights cf access and the procedural fairness demanded by natural
justice, or where the citizen's
rights have otherwise been frustrated because cf
government action or omission, there may be ample grounds for finding a breach
cf
the protection cf the law for which damages may be an appropriate remedy.'
The CCJ found the Government of Belize breached Maya community members'
right to protection of the law by failing to ensure that the
existing land law
system recognized and protected Maya land rights.
- Therefore,
there is jurisprudence for the Claimant to base a claim for protection of the
law on the failure of the state to protect
citizens from the practice of police
officers from arresting and charging persons on the basis that they own a
property or live or
an identification card was found in a place in which a
firearm was found. This also raises the issue of presumption of innocence
as
alleged by the Claimant that the practice of police officers in making such
arrest. These matters cannot be dealt with in an ordinary
claim and so there is
no adequate alternative remedy
- A
proper explanation in relation to the events which led to the Claimant's arrest
and charge and the practice by police officers
in relation to the possession of
firearm offences should as a matter of public interest be explored. It may be
necessary if it is
proved that the Court can order that systems must be
proactively engaged so as to prevent a situation as outlined by the Claimant
from reoccurring.
The Court is therefore of the view that the pleaded facts demonstrate that the
instant claim falls within the realm of constitutional
importance.
- Arbitrary
and unlawful practices of police officer is and should remam of paramount
concern to the society and the Court.
- For
the reasons outlined above the Notice of Application is dismissed, this claim
for constitutional relief is not without merit
and should be determined. It is
also ordered that the Defendant shall pay to the Claimant, costs in the sum of
$1,000.00.
Westmin R.A. James
Justice of the Supreme Court (Ag)
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