EMA/FFOS arguments come to a close

As the court term came to an end yesterday, Appeal Court Justices Lionel Jones, Rolston Nelson and Anthony Lucky reserved their decision in the appeal made by Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) of a High Court judgment to deny their application for judicial review. The decision may be given sometime during the Court’s vacation.

High Court judge Nolan Bereaux in August 2002 dismissed an application by FFOS for judicial review of the decision of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) to grant a Certificate of Environmental Clearance to bpTT to construct a natural gas pipeline at Guayaguayare. Attorney for bpTT, Russell Martineau SC, argued yesterday that the issues of the Appeal Case were quite simple. He argued that merely six months after the CEC was granted by the EMA, the FFOS on May 20, 2002, applied for leave to apply for judicial review. FFOS acknowledged that the application for leave was filed out of time and sought an extension of time to file the application which was denied by the trial judge because he found that no good reason was presented which would merit an extension of time. Martineau further argued that the trial judge gave full consideration to the merits of the case and rightly exercised his discretion in refusing leave. Martineau was assisted by Attorney Deborah Peake while the representatives for the EMA were Martin Daly SC and Maxine Williams. Former Attorney General, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj appeared on behalf of FFOS.