Differing Legal Opinion on Who Hold Authority Over UDP HQ

Last night, we featured a legal opinion on the Alliance for Democracy’s takeover of the U.D.P. headquarters from Jamaican attorney Doctor Christopher Malcolm, who also serves as a Senior Lecturer at the Mona Law Institute. Doctor Malcolm asserted that Phillipa Griffith-Bailey lacks the authority to transfer the property’s use to Tracy Panton and the Alliance for Democracy. As for those Belizean attorneys who argue otherwise, Doctor Malcolm suggests they need to reassess their positions.

 

Dr. Christopher Malcolm, Attorney at Law

“You have heard the saying I am sure that doctors differ, patients die. It is simple to say that the fact you have lawyers giving an opinion doesn’t mean we all go to court every day, I have been doing so for close to thirty years myself as a lawyer. And we go to court sometimes thinking we have good cases, and we lose, we also think we have poor cases, and we win. But the point I am making is that whether that person is to be trusted or not, is immaterial. The starting point must be what does the title say by reference of who the owner is. And if that person is saying that the tittle erroneously recorded the UDP as owner instead of her then her recourse is to take an appropriate action to get the title corrected. And, I am not saying that if she takes those actions that she will succeed, that is not what I am saying. The point I am making is that she is in no position, as I have read, according to what the title reflects, as distinct to what the instrument of transfer. So the persons saying that the instrument of transfer had her, quite frankly I would be so bold as to say those lawyers need to examine their own minds as to what land law is about.”