Right to Privacy for Businesses upheld by the High Court

The High Court of Belize in February handed down a judgment in the case Belize Sugar Industries Ltd v The Attorney General of Belize & others which dealt with an application by BSI challenging the constitutionality of the Sugar Industry (Import/Export) Regulations, 2023. In the judgment handed down by Justice Goonetilleke, it was determined that several provisions in the regulations violated constitutional protections and were declared null and void. Of the provisions determined as unconstitutional, Regulation 5(1) was found to have violated the right to privacy protected by section 14 of the Constitution of Belize. The High Court explained that the right to privacy applies to natural and legal persons and that the Government of Belize, by requiring the disclosure of private business details, violated that right. Of course, Justice Goonetilleke’s judgment is open for the higher courts to affirm or overturn but for now the judgment serves as a message to policy/lawmakers that businesses possess constitutional protections that must be considered when making laws that affect them. Furthermore, where laws violate those rights, the Court will strike them down.