CCJ Rejects Maya Land Rights Clarification Request

The Caribbean Court of Justice has dismissed an application by the Toledo Alcalde Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance seeking further clarification of the court’s 2015 Consent Order on Maya customary land rights.  The application was filed earlier this year amid concerns about the implementation of the landmark order. However, the CCJ ruled today that it would not intervene in the process at this stage and instead urged the Maya representatives and the Government of Belize to continue working together.  In delivering the court’s decision, Justice Winston Anderson reflected on the CCJ’s decade-long involvement in monitoring the implementation of the Consent Order. He said the court had deliberately maintained a hands-on supervisory role to ensure that the promises contained in the 2015 judgment were translated into practical improvements for Maya communities.  Justice Anderson said the CCJ had guided the parties in mapping and demarcating Maya customary lands, securing titles, strengthening institutions and ensuring that development decisions affecting Maya lands are made lawfully and with genuine consultation and participation.  He said the court is now satisfied that the central elements of the implementation process have taken root and that direct judicial supervision is no longer required.

Hon. Winston Anderson, CCJ President: “The precise scope and extent of Maya customary land tenure will therefore necessarily remain uncertain until authoritatively identified and codified by the laws of Belize. We think that that process is now underway and that it should be given every allowance to complete its journey. We therefore do not think that we ought to intervene at this point in the way asked for by the applicants and instead would encourage the parties to continue the process towards the culmination of the product that we have all looked for for so very long. As my brother Justice Jamadah indicated, if at the end of the process parties are not content with the final product then there are other routes where which that product can be challenged before the courts, including this court. But we do not believe that it would be appropriate at this point for this court to become involved in providing what has been sought by the applicant’s appellants. The application is dismissed and there will be no order as to costs. Comments from the applicant.”

The court acknowledged that the precise scope of Maya customary land tenure remains uncertain and will not be fully settled until it is formally identified and codified under Belizean law. Justice Anderson said that process is underway and should be given the opportunity to reach its conclusion.  The judges therefore declined to intervene in the manner requested by the applicants. They encouraged the Toledo Alcalde Association, the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Government of Belize to continue working toward the long-awaited final framework.  The court noted that if the parties are dissatisfied with the final legislation or the outcome of the process, other legal avenues will remain available to challenge it.  Godfrey Smith and Leslie Mendez represented the Toledo Alcalde Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance, while Andrew Marshalleck and Samantha Matute represented the Government of Belize./