St. Lucia Government Welcomes British Court Of Appeal Ruling

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Mar. 22, (CMC) – The St. Lucia government, today, welcomed the ruling, by the British Court of Appeal, regarding the diplomatic immunity of its ambassador to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Dr. Walid Juffali.

Last month, the High Court judge ruled that he was “satisfied that what has transpired here is that (Dr. Juffali) has sought and obtained a diplomatic appointment with the sole intention of defeating (Ms. Estrada’s) claims, consequent on the breakdown of their marriage”.

Justice Hayden said, “Dr. Juffali has not, in any real sense, taken up his appointment, nor has he discharged any responsibilities in connection with it.

“It is an entirely artificial construct,” he added.

Christina Estrada, the ex-wife of the Saudi billionaire, is seeking a slice of the four billion pound (One British pound =US$1.44) fortune, after the end of their 13-year marriage.

But Juffali filed an appeal against the ruling, and Britain’s Foreign Office said, that if the decision stood, British diplomats could be hauled before the courts of any country in which they are serving and their position “scrutinised, and their status unjustifiably curtailed”.

In a statement welcoming the Court of Appeal ruling, the Kenny Anthony government said, it has “consistently maintained, throughout these proceedings, that to have waived Dr. Juffali’s diplomatic immunity for the purposes of a divorce case would, undoubtedly, have created a dangerous precedent that could compromise current and future St. Lucian diplomats in the United Kingdom and elsewhere”.

The St. Lucia government said, that its view, “which was based on international law and clear diplomatic precedent, has been forcefully reiterated by the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, the Rt. Hon. Phillip Hammond M.P., and upheld in today’s definitive judgement by the Court of Appeal”.

Hammond had said the high court’s ruling “should not be upheld or endorsed”.

The government said, it “has always stated that it is ultimately for the court to decide whether a foreign diplomat in the UK enjoys immunity in any particular case.

“Today’s Court of Appeal judgment acknowledges that Juffali’s accreditation as a diplomat was without a doubt legitimate,” it said, adding, that the ruling acknowledged that “if a question arises in any proceedings before the English courts as to whether a person is entitled to any privilege or immunity, a certificate issued under the authority of the Secretary of State, stating, any fact relating to that question shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.

“The government of St. Lucia considers this a conclusive finding on the matter. While today’s judgment found Dr. Juffali to be a permanent resident of the UK, enabling his ex-wife to progress with her claim, it made clear that there was no question of his diplomatic appointment.”

The St. Lucia government said, it has “and will always, follow full due process in the appointment of St Lucia’s diplomatic representatives”.

“The appointment of Dr. Juffali as Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) was no different,” it added.

Since the High Court ruling, Prime Minister Anthony confirmed, the supermodel ex-wife of the Saudi billionaire, had named him and the Attorney General in a civil lawsuit, as she seeks to challenge the decision of the St. Lucia government to appoint Juffali as a diplomat.