Mussington hopes Privy Council will rule in Barbudan challengers’ favour when decision is handed down Tuesday

Barbudans are waiting with bated breath on the decision of the
Privy Council, which is set to render its decision in the airport
appeal case on Tuesday morning.
 
Last year, Barbuda Councilman John Mussington and fellow
Barbudan Jacklyn Frank challenged the Browne Administration’s
construction of a runway for an international airport in a particular
location and took their complaint to the London-based court.
 
Mussington says the decision will be delivered on Tuesday, February
27, at 7 a.m. local time.
 
He is hoping the law lords will rule in their favour in this case which
has far-reaching implications and will be precedent-setting.
 
However, according to the activist councilman, no matter which way
the country’s final appellate court rules, Barbudans will not cease to
exist, nor will they relinquish their land rights.

Barbuda Councilman John Mussington.

 
Mussington and Frank agreed to take the matter to the country’s
final court after the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of
Appeal (ECSC) dismissed their challenge to the development of the
runway.

The ECSC had ruled that the duo lacked the standing to bring such a
claim.
 
During the case before the Privy Council – heard on November 8,
2023 – the law lords were asked to consider whether the lower
court had erred in holding that a previous decision of the Supreme
Court in Walton v Scottish Ministers was not relevant to their case. 
 
That ruling stated that a person with a genuine interest in the aspect
of the environment they are trying to protect, and sufficient
knowledge of the subject to qualify them to act in the public interest,
may be accorded standing in an environmental case – even though
the challenged decision does not directly affect their own rights or
interests.

Among other issues, the Privy Council also had to consider whether
the Development Control Authority’s failure to disclose the related
Environmental Impact Assessment report was relevant to the issue
of standing.
 
Mussington and Frank were represented by a team of top-notch
counselors, including Marc Willers KC, Leslie Thomas KC, Stephen
Cottle, Thalia Maragh and Adam Riley, who represented the duo pro
bono.
 
The two had received widespread support from around the globe
and were also supported by the Global Legal Action Network
(GLAN).