Appeal Court refuses stay of CJ’s orders in Berbice rice farmers’ case

Jun 19, 2018 News

The Court of Appeal has ruled against a stay of the orders by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George in the matter which a group of Seafield, West Coast Berbice rice farmers are challenging President David Granger’s revocation of their leases.
The three farmers – Phillip Johnson, Rawle Miller and Rupert Blackman – had been embroiled in legal battles over lease lands, used for rice cultivation in the area since 2015.
The farmlands amount to just over 25 acres and are situated at the North Main Canal in the rear of Plantation Seafield, West Coast Berbice.
The farmers had initially taken court action against Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) after the board revoked their lease.
In February 2016, former Chief Justice Ian Chang granted orders quashing the decision made by the MMA/ADA to cancel the leases. The court found that it was not up to the MMA/ADA to determine the legal validity or invalidity of the leases, and then to purport to cancel them on the basis of its own legal finding.
The order was made absolute in February 2016, but the leases were still cancelled by the authority in March 2016 without any appeals being filed.
The farmers then returned to the High Court to pronounce the President’s actions as unlawful, and to award damages for the breach of their constitutional rights.
The group of independent rice cultivators through Attorneys at Law, Anil Nandlall, Rajendra Jaigobin and Manoj Narayan, contended that MMA/ADA’s revocation of their leases had been discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious.
Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George SC subsequently ruled that the revocation of leases for lands used by farmers for rice cultivation in Seafield, West Coast Berbice, by President David Granger is illegal, since it violates Article 142 (1) of the Constitution of Guyana.
In the course of her ruling, the Chief Justice granted a permanent conservatory order restraining servants and agents of the MMA/ADA or any other officer of the State from entering upon, remaining, occupying, or in any other manner whatsoever from interfering with the applicants quiet and peaceful possession of the land.
The Chief Justice also awarded cost in the sum of $300,000 to each of the farmers. In addition, the Chief Justice refused to grant the farmers $5M each in damages for the infringement of their fundamental rights which they had contended.
Although the Chief Justice acknowledged that the farmers’ fundamental rights were infringed upon, she ruled that no evidence was led to prove damages.
However, obviously dissatisfied by the Court’s decision, lawyers for the Attorney General and MMA/ADA lodged an Appeal in the Court of Appeal against the decision of the Chief Justice.
On March 5, 2018, they also filed an Application for a Stay of execution of the Orders of Chief Justice Roxane George. This Application was heard by Justice of Appeal Dawn Gregory, in chambers at the Court of Appeal, last week.
After reading all the Affidavits and written submissions and hearing oral arguments, Justice Gregory refused the Application made by the Attorney General and MMA/ADA for a stay of execution of the Chief Justice’s orders and ordered the Attorney General and MMA/ADA to pay $50,000, each to Miller, Johnson and Blackman.

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Appeal Court refuses stay of CJ’s orders in Berbice rice farmers’ case

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