The Full Court has set aside five Preservation Orders that were issued against the State in a High Court case brought against the Ministry of Health by VAMED Engineering of Austria over millions of dollars in outstanding funds for the construction of the Guyana Maternal and Pediatric Hospital.
In a ruling delivered by Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh and Justice Zamilla Ally-Seepaul, the Full Court ruled on Tuesday that the Preservation Orders issued by Justice Renita Singh cannot stand.
In August, Justice Renita Singh ordered the Health Ministry and VAMED Engineering to secure the equipment at the construction site of the multi-million dollar hospital at Ogle on the East Coast of Demerara.
While Justice Singh refused to grant conservatory and restraining orders sought by VAMED Engineering against the Health Minister, she issued a series of orders instructing both parties to preserve 52 containers of equipment at the construction site, while granting security for VAMED Engineering access for the sole purpose of securing the containers and equipment.
The Health Ministry was also ordered to preserve all contractor’s documents, property designs, plans and intellectual property.
In delivering the decision of the Full Court, Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh said the Court considered whether the High Court Judge following her refusal to grant Conservatory and Restraining Orders, could make substantially similar orders under the guise of preserving property.
He said the Full Court found that Justice Singh’s orders are inconsistent with her findings, and therefore cannot stand.
“Their legal foundation was inadequately established and their substantive effect was not properly considered,” the Full Court ruled.
In a press statement, the Attorney General Chambers said the Full Court held that Section 16 of the State Liability and Proceedings Act prohibits injunctions against the State in proceedings of this kind.
“That prohibition could not be circumvented by describing orders regulating the State’s conduct as preservation orders or by relying on the Civil Procedure Rules,” it said.
According to the Attorney General Chambers, the Court also found that the orders lacked the necessary statutory basis under the Arbitration Act 2024, and also conflicted with the High Court Judge’s own findings that there was no urgency and that damages were an adequate remedy.
“The High Court’s refusal of VAMED’s applications for conservatory and restraining orders remains undisturbed, as does its order referring the underlying contract dispute to arbitration,” the Attorney General Chambers said.
The Court awarded the Attorney General GY$500,000 in costs.
According to Attorney General Anil Nandlall, this latest ruling now clears the way for the Ministry of Health to take possession of the sites, containers, equipment and associated construction materials and to proceed with the projects as it sees fit.
The appellant was represented by the Attorney together with Shoshana Lall, Prithima Kissoon and Joshua Cullen of the Attorney General’s Chambers. VAMED Engineering was represented by Nigel Hughes of Hughes, Fields and Stoby.
Source: News Source Guyana
