The Grand Court has ruled that legal aid should be granted to fund an appeal against a judicial review, which ruled Governor Martyn Roper acted within the scope of his reserved powers by enacting civil partnership legislation in 2020.
The ruling to allow legal aid was granted by Justice Alistair Walters. He found that, despite an initial decision which was dismissed earlier this year, the issue at stake was of “general public importance”.
Kattina Anglin, who initiated the original legal challenge in September 2020, was granted legal aid to fund the civil dispute after having met the requirements at the time. Since then, she has argued that nothing has changed by way of her ability to fund the case outside of the public purse.
According to Walters’ written judgment, which was handed down on 23 Aug., the director of legal aid had refused to continue funding Anglin’s case on the grounds that the “circumstances do not justify the expenditure of public funds”.
Attorney Waide DaCosta, who represented the director, reminded the court that the granting of aid was largely at the discretion of that department and “emphasized that just because legal aid had been granted for the judicial review proceedings did not mean that it can be guaranteed for any further appeals”.
Walters’ judgment referred to the argument from Hugh Southey, QC, who represented Anglin, stating, “There is limited case law and jurisprudence in relation to the questions raised on this case and they are of significance to both the Cayman Islands and other British Overseas Territories where there are similar provisions regarding reserved powers”.
When returning his decision, Walters said, “the Plaintiff maintains a significant interest in arguing her position in the litigation and in my view, most importantly, the issues raised on the appeal are of general public importance which are unlikely to be argued unless legal aid is granted.”
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