TWO BARBUDAN residents have won a landmark appeal at a top UK court to challenge the construction of an airport in their country.

Residents, John Mussington, a marine biologist, and Jacklyn Frank, a retired teacher, launched the legal battle against the government of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, after they feared the construction of a private airport would destroy the environment in the east Caribbean country.

The government of Antigua and Barbuda had opposed the application for a judicial review by the residents because they did not have specialised knowledge about the environment and tried to insist they had no standing to take legal action. 

But the UK Privy Council – which is the final court of appeal for the twin-island country – has recently ruled the residents do have a right to challenge the construction of the runway – which lawyers say should give other Caribbean residents the “confidence to challenge” major developers.

Speaking to The Voice, about the ruling, lawyer Thalia Maragh of Garden Court Chambers’ Environmental Law and Climate Justice Team, who represented the residents, said: “The court effectively found that the claimants did in fact have standing to bring a claim for judicial review relating to environmental matters, because as citizens and people who live on the island of Barbuda they were directly affected.

“It is a landmark ruling because it widens the issue of standing as it relates to who can bring a claim relating to environmental matters.”

She also said the ruling granting the residents standing demonstrates “it is not necessary for the applicant to demonstrate an expertise in the subject matter” and that having some knowledge or “concern about the environment” is enough.

The lawyer said she hopes other environmental campaigners and activists in the Caribbean see the Privy Council ruling as “a judgement which empowers them to access information.” 

Maragh urged campaigners and residents to become more involved in seeking disclosure of decisions made about developments in their communities and to “assess” and “scrutinise the soundness of developments and their compliance with planning regulations.” 

“Members of the public who have a genuine interest and a genuine concern about an environmental project must have the opportunity and standing to bring a claim challenging a project or seeking judicial review of a project that might directly affect the environment,” she added.

Environment concerns

According to reports, the government of the twin-island nation began construction of the airport in Barbuda without consultation with the people of the island and without following the proper planning procedures – including the publishing an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Dr David Dorsett, representing the Barbudan Development Control Authority, the Antigua and Barbuda Airports Authority and the islands’ Attorney General, admitted there was no public consultation, but insisted this was lawful.

Maragh told The Voice, despite requests from Mussington and Frank for the disclosure of the Environmental Impact Assessment, they never received this and they were concerned about the “preservation of the environment” of their country.

She said the residents were deeply worried about the destruction  of “historical sites”, “ancient trees” and the “habitat of local animals.” 

She added that Mussington and Frank also had concerns about the “potential contamination of the underwater supply” to the country.  

The court also heard that Mussington was visited by police after he asked whether the destruction of 300 acres of previously untouched forest had a permit for construction of the airport. 

Injunction

In 2018, the residents were granted an interim injunction to halt the construction of the airport because planning laws were not followed. 

However, the injunction was appealed by the government of Antigua and Barbuda in the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal (ECCA) and the appeal was successful and the case was sent back to local courts. 

The application for the injunction was heard in local courts and it was later dismissed. 

The dismissal was then appealed by the two residents and the case went back to the ECCA, who ruled in favour of the government. 

As a result, the residents refused to back down and took the case to the Privy Council, where last month it was ruled the residents do have standing and the case will now go back to local courts. 

Even though the legal battle continues, the ruling from the Privy Council has been seen as a victory for ordinary residents. 

In 2005, Maragh started the challenge to end the restriction of public access to the Winnifred’s Beach in Portland, Jamaica. 

She said the Privy Council ruling widens the threshold of who can take legal action against developments across the Caribbean, which will have a significant impact on other countries in the region facing similar issues. 

In recent months, there have been growing calls for public access to beaches in Jamaica to be protected.

‘Ethnically cleansed’

Mussington and Frank previously told The Voice, that ordinary Barbudans are being “ethnically cleansed” by developers who want to turn their country into a place for rich millionaires.

Speaking outside the Supreme Court in November last year, Mussington told The Voice: “As our saying says: ‘land equals culture.’ The kind of things that these developers are doing, they are literally destroying our resources, including our food security, and destroying our culture.”

He said Barbudans were being “ethnically cleansed” off their land, and he feared locals might be pushed off the island permanently.

The Voice, has contacted the office of Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne for comment.