Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan has come under scrutiny in Belize over his handling of a recent constitutional claim in that country in which he represented three citizens who were seeking, but failed to stop the country's March 12, general election.
00:00In dismissing the claim last Wednesday, former Attorney General Anand Ram Logan was directed by High Court Judge Tawanda Andhora to provide information on how the affidavits that were submitted in the case were prepared prior to filing,
00:15to provide an explanation for the purported use of template digital signatures, as well as to explain the role played in the case by a law firm from Belize.
00:24The claim was brought by Ram Logan's clients Jeremy Henriquez, Rudolf Norales and Jessica Toulsay and was heard last Monday and Tuesday.
00:33It centered around the constitutionality of the country's electoral boundaries. Henriquez, Norales and Toulsay were seeking to stop the election,
00:42given that they were not satisfied with the Attorney General's response to their request that Belize's Prime Minister John Brisenu give them advance notice of his decision to advise the Governor General on the dissolving of the country's National Assembly and call a general election.
00:59After the Prime Minister subsequently and publicly announced that the election was set to take place on March 12th, two further amended applications were made to the claim.
01:09In deciding the applications, Justice Andhora took issue with two affidavits purportedly sworn by Henriquez in support of the applications,
01:19noting that it appeared that Henriquez's signature and that of the High Court Commissioner, who purportedly witnessed the deposition, were digitally added to the court document.
01:30In his ruling, the judge said,
01:32There is more than a whiff that someone was given digital copies of the deponents and the Commissioner's signatures and inserted those in the affidavits said to be that of Mr Henriquez and the other documents used in this matter.
01:46The judge went on to add that if this was in fact the case, the court needed to know exactly who did so and under what authority.
01:54The judge also pointed out that during the two-day hearing last Monday and Tuesday, Ramlogan was not physically present in the court but represented his clients virtually.
02:04In court documents, the judge said Henriquez stated that the claimant's address for service was in care of their attorneys at 2118 Galva Street, Belize City, Belize.
02:16As confirmed by Ramlogan in response to a question from the bench, that address belonged to the law firm Estevan Pereira & Co. LLP.
02:25The judge noted, however, that Ramlogan, in announcing his appearance for the trio, did not state that he was being instructed by Estevan Pereira & Co. LLP,
02:35nor did the applicant state that they were also being represented by Freedom Law Chambers headed by Ramlogan, which is located in San Fernando, Trinidad.
02:45The judge said the firm was not representing Henriquez and others. It was unclear why Henriquez would have provided the address at Galva Street, Belize City, as the one for service.
02:57Given the anomalies, which the judge described as inexplicable, he said the court could not rely on the affidavits and therefore had to dismiss the applications.
03:07Contacted for comment yesterday, Ramlogan said, an appeal has already been filed against the judge's decision, together with a certificate of urgency for an expedited hearing.
03:19Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:22Claimant Jeremy Henriquez issued a statement this evening seeking to clarify an aspect of court ruling regarding the commissioning of his affidavit.
03:31He takes full responsibility for signing and commissioning the documents, which he executed digitally to ensure their swift submission, in the light of the urgency of the matter.
03:41He declared that the legitimacy of his action remains beyond question.
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