Mia Mottley’s father Justice Elliot Mottley quits Belize Court of Appeal under controversy

Will Justice Elliot Mottley return to haunt backroom Barbados politics?

Belize news media and blogs are reporting that President of the Belize Court of Appeal, Justice Elliot Mottley, tendered his resignation in a constitutional showdown with Prime Minister Dean Barrow.

“It was in August of this year that the former Chief Justice Conteh brought to my attention the amendment to the Constitution. It was then that I discovered that the terms and condition of my appointment as President of the Court of Appeal of Belize had been unilaterally altered. And this was done without my knowledge and consent. Once I became aware of this, I determined that I would resign my position as President of this court. I will say no more on that.”

Justice Elliott Mottley quoted in The Reporter article Appeal Court President admits resignation is because of Constitutional amendment

(Tip of the hat to an old friend for that link)

We at Barbados Free Press can’t pretend to understand the background to the political and legal controversy over this move in Belize, but judging by the internet traffic and citizens’ comments, it’s important to the people of Belize. There is speculation that Prime Minister Barrow is consolidating power and that he will appoint a family member or friend and political supporter to succeed Justice Mottley. Whether true or not, even the talk about this is disturbing and…

That’s serious business when it comes to democracy.

We in Barbados know the problem when the judiciary is politicized and we urge our friends in Belize to fight the politicization of the courts in any way they can.

Let’s make one thing clear: based upon what we are reading on the internet, we don’t believe that Mia’s daddy is the bad guy here. Maybe he’s a victim. Maybe he’s a principled person who won’t stand to see his judicial office corrupted or overridden by politicians.

We don’t know and we’re not knowledgeable to comment one way or the other on this specific situation in Belize… but we do know one thing from Barbados’ recent political history…

Judicial office be damned: Justice Elliot Mottley is not afraid to insert himself into Bajan politics.