January 2003

Chief Justice Amends Decision to Detail Public Hearings Procedure

Approximately a week following the decision by Belize's Chief Justice Abdullah Conteh to order the government to call for public hearings on the Chalillo dam, he issued an amendment to clarify the procedure for these hearings:

[Added to paragraph 78 of the decision in Action 61]  "Public hearing" as the term implies, is a hearing held in public and would involve members of the public, at which points of view would be put forward. But what distinguishes it from the public consultation and participation in the EIA process as contemplated by section 20(5) or Regulation 18, is I think, that it is not conducted under the aegis of the developer or proponent of the project. Public hearing is therefore somewhat more formal and structured than public consultation. At the public hearing there will be a presiding officer who will hear views from both the proponent/developer of the project and from members of the public and others (including no doubt groups of civil society). At the end of the exercise, the chairperson makes a report, including recommendations, if any, to the relevant authority.

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