PM Disagrees With Court Ruling in Jalacte Maya Land Rights Case

In another reaction from the Prime Minister, he has expressed disappointment over the recent Court of Appeal ruling in the Jalacte Maya land rights case, indicating that while his government respects the judiciary, he does not agree with the decision handed down by the court.  The ruling saw the Court of Appeal uphold an earlier Supreme Court judgment awarding more than six million Belize dollars in damages to the Maya village of Jalacte and affected residents over the unlawful acquisition and destruction of communal lands for roadworks and infrastructure development carried out under the previous United Democratic Party administration.  The landmark ruling further reinforces the 2015 Caribbean Court of Justice consent order, which recognized Maya customary land rights as constitutionally protected in Belize.  Speaking on the matter, however, Prime Minister Briceño said he was not pleased with the outcome of the case, particularly given the financial implications for the Government and taxpayers.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “We believe it’s a wrong ruling. We believe that the judges, we don’t agree with it and I say that respectfully. And certainly we will appeal and we believe that we have overturn that ruling at the CCJ.” 

The case stems from works conducted along the road corridor between “The Dump” area and the Belize-Guatemala border, where lands traditionally used by Maya families for farming were bulldozed without what the court determined to be Free, Prior and Informed Consent, commonly referred to as FPIC.  In affirming the lower court’s judgment, the Court of Appeal found that the Government had breached the constitutional property rights of the Maya community by compulsorily acquiring more than thirty-one acres of customary lands without compensation or proper consultation.