As we reported on Tuesday night, the Dean Barrow administration has formally withdrawn the controversial 8th amendment bill following public outcry against preventative detention. The government however, has decided to push ahead with its 9th amendment to the constitution, which seeks to enshrine and safeguard the acquisition and state ownership of utilities and place those amendments to the constitution beyond court challenge. The move has come under heavy criticism from the Opposition and members of the Bar Association. Today 7 News spoke with local human rights attorney, Antoinette Moore who said the recent discussions and debates over the constitutional amendments are a great civics lesson.
Antoinette Moore - ABA Country Director
"It's timely in that, there are is there a great deal of discussion in the country right now, with regard to fighting crime, what efforts may be made, what different kind of innovative efforts may be made. Certainly, the Prime Minister has offered certain suggestions to his constitutional amendments, but there is another take on that. And certainly, the deficiencies in the system of prosecution in our country could be improved, and that could certainly help with fighting crime and with getting convictions. So I think there is an inter-relationship between this report, and what is going on in constitutional amendments. But at this time, I am not speaking on behalf of the Human Rights Commission of Belize; I'm speaking on behalf of the American Bar Association. What's going on in the country now, regardless of what your views are on the various constitutional amendments, it is providing an opportunity for all of us to further educate ourselves, and to educate the general public. I've been calling it a big civics lesson, and indeed, I think that we need much more of that. It's a big civics lesson, and we're all learning a great deal about our constitution, what it says and how it's changed."
Public consultations on the proposed 9th Amendment are expected to begin in two weeks.
This evening, the Belize Bar Association issued a press release calling on the Government to remove three proposed amendments to the Constitution. In the release, the Bar says the amendment to section 69 is replacing Constitutional democracy with parliamentary supremacy. The statement goes on to contend that the Constitution should be subject to judicial review and as such is asking the Government to remove the amendment to Section two. And finally, the association says property owners should have the right to challenge nationalizations. We'll have more on this story in tomorrow's newscast.
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