Significant judicial precedent was set in the Court of Appeal today after the panel of judges found that there was an appearance of bias by Justice Denys Barrow. Viewers will recall that Belize Electricity Limited had filed an appeal against a decision handed down in October. The power company argued that an informed, fair-minded person could conclude that Justice Barrow would appear biased in hearing a case between BEL and the Public Utilities Commission because his son Kimano is a Commissioner of the PUC.
Through its attorneys Queen's Counsel Vincent Nelson and Anthony Sylvestre, BEL had stressed that the application was not about questioning Justice Barrow's integrity, it was all about the perception of bias. After hearing submissions from Nelson and the PUC's lead counsel Senior Counsel Derek Courtenay, this morning the Court of Appeal agreed with BEL.
In handing down the decision, President Elliott Mottley indicated that the reasons for the decision would be handed down later. The ruling means that a new hearing will be held in Civil Appeal 8 of 2009 by a panel of judges that do not include Justice Barrow. It is a blemish on Barrow’s otherwise sterling judicial career and particularly so in that it happened in the very first case he sat on.
Barrow had rejected BEL’s claims in a recusal statement but during
arguments Justice Boyd Carey told the court that the contents of that statement mattered little in consideration of the average man or woman’s perception of bias. And while it is adverse for Justice Barrow going forward, it’s a second chance for BEL. In reacting to the decision BEL's Chief Executive Officer Lynn Young maintained the company can now focus on the substantive issue.
Lyn Young, CEO - BEL
“We are happy that we have another chance to make our case because as we’ve said before, we feel that it is a very important case for the company. The issue of course is that the PUC has been trying to force us to get into contracts that we think are not good for us, that are not good for our customers. We are glad to get another opportunity to try to get that straighten out.”
BEL has also been awarded costs for two counsels. According to the electricity company's attorneys, it is hoped that the new hearing would be scheduled for the Court of Appeal's next sitting, set for June. As for reaction to the decision on the delicate subject of the appearance of bias, attorneys we canvassed today say they will wait to read the reasons before making any statements. There’s more from the court coming up as Justice Carey was honoured at a special ceremony for the retiring judge this afternoon – and later on, and he granted Janelle Chanona a rare interview.
