It may appear to be a fine point but a win at the Appeals Court has resulted
in a significant victory for the government of Belize over the Belize Bank.
It took two and half days in March for Lois Young for the Attorney General’s
Office and Vincent Nelson for the Belize Bank to make their arguments before
the Appeals Court judges. The bank was appealing an August 2008 decision by
the Chief Justice where he found that the Banks and Financial Institutions Appeals
Board had been was constitutionally appointed. The Belize Bank had argued that
because they were appointed by the Prime Minister who is also the Minister of
Finance, there was an inherent bias.
And while the Chief Justice found that the tribunal is impartial, the Belize
Bank challenged it vigorously at the appeals level. The news tonight is that
their appeal was dismissed and the Chief Justice’s decision was upheld.
The court has not given its reasoning yet but it’s safe to say they did
not find that being appointed by the Minister of Finance infected the members
with any bias. It’s left to be seen if the Belize Bank will now take its
appeal to the Privy Council.
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