Lucky delivers first judgment in Germany

FORMER Trinidad and Tobago Appeal Court Judge Anthony Lucky delivered his first judgment yesterday while sitting with eight other judges of  the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea at its headquarters in Hamburg, Germany.

The tribunal delivered judgment in a dispute between Malaysia and Singapore at 11 am (TT time). Judge Lucky retired from the TT Judiciary in September, 18 months before his mandatory retirement age to take up duties with the tribunal. He replaced Lennox Ballah, who died months earlier, leaving a vacancy on the international bench. As soon as Lucky was elected on September 2 in New York, he was off to Germany to sit on the Malaysia/Singapore case. When contacted yesterday, Judge Lucky said he was happy to have been chosen from Trinidad and Tobago to sit on this international tribunal. He said the issues in the case were interesting and he was happy to be able to deliver a judgment in the case. The President of the Tribunal, Dolliver Nelson, of Grenada, delivered the main judgment. Malaysia initiated action against Singapore. The dispute concerned land reclamation activities carried out by Singapore, which allegedly impinged upon Malaysia’s rights in and around the Straits of Johor, which separate the island of Singapore from Malaysia. The tribunal unanimously directed Singapore not to conduct its land reclamation in ways that might cause irreparable prejudice to the rights of Malaysia or serious harm to the marine environment.

In his judgment, Judge Lucky said the tribunal was asked to make mandatory orders which could cease work on a project which was elaborate, expensive and of considerable magnitude. He said several issues had to be considered — the balance of convenience or inconvenience to each side; the status quo as to whether the works are reversible; whether the decision would cause prejudice; and whether there will be serious harm to the environment. Was there a prima facie case? Judge Lucky said the merits of the application had to be considered. The evidence, he added, had to disclose that there would be serious harm to the environment and the right of Malaysia could have been prejudiced. He said Malaysia had to show a very strong probability upon the facts that serious harm would accrue to that country in the future. Judge Lucky agreed with the tribunal, but suggested that filling works in the Sraits of Johor be suspended until a joint assessment authority be established to report within three months on whether there will be serious harm to the environment and whether the rights of Malaysia with respect to navigation will be infringed.