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His response was that the Courts are the guardians and the interpreters of one of the best written constitutions in the Caribbean, which allows for an ideal challenge to the sodomy laws here.

Christopher Hamel-Smith, QC - Attorney for Caleb Orozco
"The constitution of Belize says expressly that it is the Supreme Law of this country and that any other law to the extent that is inconsistent with the constitution is void. The only person in the country that is allowed to decide whether it is contravening the constitution in the country is the courts; that is the job of the courts so that the judge has to answer the question. That doesn't mean the parliament cannot do its job but the courts are the guardians of the constitution, they have to interpret the constitution and they have to apply the constitution and I am sure they will do so; whichever party is right or wrong."

Reporter
"Would it be too much to ask you for your feeling after the arguments?"

Christopher Hamel-Smith
"My feeling after the arguments - we haven't finished the arguments but my feeling about the case all along is that we have an extremely powerful case. The constitution of Belize is an extremely well written document. One of the advantages Belize had is that it developed its constitution later than some of the Caribbean islands. Clearly whoever did the drafting and the framing of the Belize constitution paid a lot of attention to some of the weaknesses that were discovered in the other constitutions in the Caribbean and took great care to fill those gaps, so that one of the reasons why this case is taking place in Belize is because the Belize constitution is a particularly well drafted document that provides very clear guidance to the court, to the government, and to the people of Belize."

Tomorrow, Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay will finish with his submissions on behalf of the Church, and Hamel-Smith will be given a brief opportunity to respond.