FFOS SUPPORTS LAW ASSOCIATION

Date: July 5th, 2018

Dear Editor/Newsroom,

FFOS commends and supports the President of the Law Association, Mr. Douglas Mendes, SC, for his letters (dated Friday 29th June, 2018) to the Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi “questioning” why the Law Association was not consulted on the proposed legislation that impacts the administration of justice.

Interestingly, many FFOS litigations have been hinged on the lawful requirement of public consultation which is only embodied in the Environmental Management Act (EM Act, 2000) and the National Environmental Policy (NEP, 2006) which create mandatory requirements for stakeholder inclusion. Over the past 20 years, the expectation of public participation via a consultation process has grown to a level whereby even those who are not lawfully entitled to consultation (such as the Law Association), plead their constructive right to be heard and to be included in the formative stages of an action.

Even more interesting is the fact that sometimes Senior Council can argue for the right to be consulted (outside the Court), but defend those who deprive stakeholders of their statutory right of public consultation (inside the Court).

Senior Council should be supported in his “questioning”, while at the same time recognizing that the “right” of consultation should not be an exclusive right only for the Law Association but also for the voiceless and underprivileged who are often deprived of their statutory right under the EM Act. Sincerely,

Gary Aboud Corporate Secretary Fishermen and Friends of the Sea