THE applicant, Jawalla Village Council had, on June 25, 2015, brought an action against the defendants for damages and injunctions for allegedly carrying out mining operations in the Mazaruni.

On June 29, 2015, Justice Diana Insanally refused the plaintiff’s application and the said interim injunction.On July 1, 2015, i.e., within four days of that refusal, the Jawalla Village Council renewed its application to the Full Court for the said interim reliefs on the same grounds as were stated in the previously refused application.

The respondents appeared by way of counsel, Mr. Roysdale Forde, and opposed the ground of the application. The application before the Court is therefore an opposed ex-parte application for interim injunction reliefs.

In her affidavit, Laura George, on behalf of the plaintiff applicant, deposed that Jawalla Village is the holder of State lands, also called titled land, as described in her petition. The residents of Jawalla are principally of the Akawaio peoples, who depend on the rivers and creeks as the sole source of fresh water, food and sustenance.

She pointed out that Section 48 of the Amerindian Act provides that: “A miner who wishes to carry out mining activities on village lands or in any river, creek, stream or other source of water within the boundaries of the village or village lands shall negotiate with the village council, on behalf of the village, in good faith all relevant issues.

The Full Court decided: “Thus it is Mr. Forde’s submission that by virtue of Section 22 (2) (a) of the Amerindian Act 1953, which was applicable in 1991 when the plaintiff applicant received title, ‘the rivers and all lands sixty-six feet landwards from the mean low water marks’ were exempted from the title of the village.”

Chief Justice Ian Chang, S.C., who delivered the judgment, said that Mr. Forde further submitted that apart from the exemption of rivers from the Title of Amerindian Villages, rivers are owned by the state, and therefore there is no title or possession of the Mazaruni River in the Amerindian Village of Jawalla.

“Clearly, the Mazaruni is not part of the plaintiff applicant’s property, and the Jawalla Village Council does not own, possess or control that river. The substantive action is based on trespass, and therefore the plaintiff applicant has to show possession i.e. control of the river.

“The court therefore does not see it fit to grant the interim injunctions sought by the applicant plaintiff. The application is therefore refused in its entirety. The 1st and 2nd named defendants are discharged from their undertaking given on the 10th July, 2015. Costs to the defendants/respondents (are granted in the sum of $20,000 each”.

The Full Court was constituted by Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, S.C., and Justice Rishi Persaud.
By George Barclay