They’ve been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few weeks but today the Novelo family had a major courtroom success against its nemesis the Ministry of Transport. They had filed an application for judicial review of decisions taken by the Chief Transport Officer and the National Transport Board. Chief Executive Officer of National Transport, David Novelo complained that the permits issued on October 18th were not done by the proper procedure; board meetings during which runs were granted were unlawful; the entire zoning was unlawful because concessions were not approved by the national assembly and the board itself was unconstitutional.
After hearing from Novelo’s attorney, Lisa Shoman and senior counsel Lois Young, who represented the Transport Office and the National Transport Board, this afternoon, Justice Awich found that the claim posed “serious questions” which have “very good prospects of succeeding”. In granting the judicial review, Awich said he found a “borderline” case of bias against John Flowers and Leo Batty as it could be argued that both men should have recused themselves when the Novelo permits came up for review. As for whether the companies could have sought the statutory relief by appealing to the Minister of Transport, Awich found that the companies’ complaints can be dealt with judicially.
And while Awich declined to grant injunctions against new zoning policy and related decisions, he did grant an injunction against new permits being issued to operators in portions of the north, including Ladyville. The ruling means that while no new companies can start operating in the zone, the ones already doing business in the area would be doing so on expired licenses. Before concluding his decision, Awich told the courtroom, “this problem is easy to solve. Ministers after coming up with policies can consult with the Attorney General and his staff, who are always available, to ensure that the policy is within the law and can also seek advice on how to implement that policy. If that were done, there would be no or very few cases of this nature coming to court.”
Following the proceedings, Attorney Lisa Shoman told reporters Awich’s decision should remind the public that no one is bigger than the law.
Lisa Shoman, Attorney for National Transport
“One of the things that the judge was very clear on is that yes Ministers have the power to make policies but that policy has to fall within the four corners of the law and so one of the grounds on which we’ve been granted leave for judicial review will be to see whether by following this policy and by granting certain concessions to bus owners, the law that a limited concession or an exclusive concession on the other hand has to be taken to the National Assembly, that will be argued in court.
I think any responsible government needs to always take account of the acts that are carried out by its authorities. I think one of the reasons that the law is stated the way that it is and the jurisprudence has grown up is that as you know there is always an imbalance between the citizens and the government. The government is seen to be all powerful but the rule of law means that even the government is subject to the law and to the courts and that the court will absolutely review the actions of a government through its authorities to see whether that was done lawfully or unlawfully.”
We understand that immediately following Awich’s decision, Senior Counsel Lois Young sought to appeal the judgement in chambers but Awich refused the application. Shoman and her clients have until December 19th to file their claim.
