[1] This appeal marks the first occasion on which the Court has been asked to decide an issue of direct concern to the protection and preservation of the environment. The issue is whether it is permissible for a Petroleum Production Licence (“Licence”) to be granted to joint venture licensees consisting of three persons where only one person, the operator, applies for and receives an environmental permit for the joint project. In one sense, the appeal has become somewhat academic in that the environmental authorisation has, since the start of the litigation, expired, and was subsequently renewed on terms which acknowledge and accept that the other two co-venturers are involved in the joint venture.1 However, a statement of the relevant governing principle and the reasons underpinning it remain important for future regulatory conduct. Other matters were raised in the litigation primarily related to the delay by the courts below in the handing down of judgments in this case, but these are not core to the environmental issue on appeal.

[43] The Constitution of Guyana is the supreme law of the land. In expressly providing for environmental rights the Constitution invests in the protection and preservation of the environment with high constitutional values. The protection of the environment is thereby placed upon an exalted plane in the juridical consciousness of the citizens of Guyana. The constitutional importance attached to environmental preservation must necessarily be borne in mind when interpreting legislation that touches and concerns the environment and forms a proper background against which such legislation must be interpreted and applied.

[93] As I intimated at the oral hearing, it appears that the appellant has acted as a public-spirited citizen zealous for compliance with the constitutional and statutory principles and provisions protecting the environment. The arguments summoned, although not ultimately successful, served a very useful function in clarifying an important point in the public law of environmental regulation. The appellant’s initiation and carriage of this litigation was therefore entirely consistent with the Escazu Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018, 61 to which Guyana is a party. The Escazu Agreement aims to provide full public access to environmental information, encourage participation in environmental decisionmaking, and enable access to legal protection and recourse concerning environmental matters. Accordingly, in the circumstances of this case, I would not impose the costs of losing this appeal upon the appellant but rather would order that the parties should bear their own costs.

[121] There is only necessary for this Court to emphasize that Mr Gaskin’s grave fears alluded to above are not to be derided or brushed aside. They are risks that naturally attend subsea drilling. Corporations, government agencies (like the EP Agency), and other public entities have a solemn obligation to hold themselves accountable for the steps they take in the management, conservation, protection and improvement of the environment. There must be scrupulous compliance with relevant statutes and regulations. Good governance, fairness and the utmost transparency must be observed. In this regard, information about policies and decisions, applications and applicants must be readily made available to the public. 

[122] Transparency promotes trust and facilitates public participation in environmental decision-making processes. When information about environmental policies, regulations, applications for permits and enforcement actions is readily available, it becomes easier for the public to identify instances of non-compliance or misconduct and for the EP Agency and other bodies to take appropriate corrective action. A demonstrated commitment to openness and accountability is especially required given the massive investment in subsea drilling for oil currently underway in Guyana. 

[128] In all the circumstances therefore, it is critical that every effort always be made for public bodies to commit to the utmost transparency as a vital tool for the protection of the environment.