NASSAU, Bahamas -- Bahamian law has been repeatedly ignored to the benefit of wealthy developers thanks to a "culture of subservience" among civil servants, attorney Fred Smith, QC, told the Supreme Court.
Presenting the case for judicial review of the Blackbeard's Cay development, Smith said the evidence pointed to a "tsunami of disregard" for due process and the rule of law as civil servants simply rubber-stamped approvals for the project at the behest of their superiors.
"The facts of the case evidence what I could term an endemic subservience, an institutional subservience entrenched in the civil service, to cater to ministerial dictate," he said. "The Cabinet and the minister are regarded as the extreme authority on what should happen, regardless of what parliament has legislated."
According to Smith, the Blackbeard's Cay project moved forward in the absence of necessary site approvals, environmental studies, public hearings and proof of the developer's compliance with mandated conditions.
In allowing this to happen, he said, the government contravened the provisions of the Planning and Subdivisions Act (PSA), the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (CLPA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
"The development has been carried out, and continues to be carried out, unlawfully," he said.

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