The Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) will have to wait until next year for the trial of its lawsuit challenging the controversial Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Point Fortin Highway. High Court judge James Aboud was due to rule yesterday on a pre-trial application from State attorneys, who are seeking to have “irrelevant” aspects of the group’s evidence removed from the case. However, when the case was called at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, Aboud said he needed further submissions.
While he entertained submissions from the group’s lawyers over whether they could introduce evidence from international environmental experts, Aboud expressed frustration over the numerous procedural applications from both sets of lawyers, which he said were slowing down the pace of the case.
Senior Counsel Deborah Peake claimed the contentious aspects of evidence from Kublalsingh, some of the group’s members and its foreign expert witnesses should be struck out as the issues raised were not mentioned in and did not affect its lawsuit which was filed in August 2012. The State’s application was filed in June last year, during a case management conference held to clarify evidential issues to facilitate the eagerly awaited trial, which was initially scheduled to take place late this year.
However, timelines for the application and the substantive case were derailed after the group filed for an injunction stopping the project, claiming the Government has intensified its construction work. The HRM is due to take its injunction battle to the Privy Council, after it was blanked by both Aboud and the local Court of Appeal. Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has agreed to ask the British court for an expedited hearing, when the appeal is eventually filed.
Aboud is expected to rule on the application on January 16.
What the case is about
In its constitutional motion filed on August 3, 2012, the group is contending that the Government contravened its constitutional rights to “life, security, enjoyment of property, to freedom of expression and freedom of association” by building the highway without consulting its members properly. The group says it is not opposed to the entire highway extension project but only a specific segment.
As a secondary issue, the group is seeking a declaration that the alleged actions of former National Security Minister Jack Warner and a group of soldiers in destroying its Debe protest camp and arresting HRM leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and other members on June 27, 2012, were illegal.
They also claim they had a legitimate expectation that the Government would abide by the findings of a study done by a team of technicial professionals led by former Independent Senator Dr James Armstrong.