Caribbean Court of Justice 41d ago

This is a referral made from the High Court of Belize to the Caribbean Court of Justice (‘CCJ’) pursuant to Art 214 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (‘the RTC’). The question referred concerns the interpretation of certain statutory requirements in relation to the prohibition against anti-competitive business conduct under the RTC. The first claimant is a Belizean businessman who owns and operates businesses in Belize and in other CARICOM Member States. The second to eighth claimants are Belize registered companies. The first respondent is the authority responsible for enforcing the relevant provisions that arise in the claim. The second respondent is the Attorney General. The claimants challenge, inter alia, the statutory and regulatory requirements to which they are subjected to: a. Maintain a registered agent in Belize having foreign shareholders/ directors; b. File documents only through such registered agent; and c. Pay prescribed statutory fees in United States Dollars (‘USD’), rather than in Belize Dollars (‘BZD’).