ODPP returns prosecution of environmental cases at parish courts to clerks

 

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has withdrawn from prosecuting environmental matters at the parish court level, returning those cases, including part-heard trials, to clerks of courts. 

 

The development emerged Thursday during proceedings in the Rio Cobre polution case against bauxite company UC Rusal, which trades as Windalco, in the St. Catherine Parish Court. 

 

Parish Court Judge Genetta Smikle disclosed that the ODPP had cited administrative challenges in stepping back from those matters at the parish court level. 

 

"We are unable to proceed, as the ODPP has expressed that there are administrative challenges, so the changes are current and the parish court clerks are now responsible for the prosecutions," she said, adding that the shift applied to both new and part heard cases. 

 

Attorney-at-law Stephanie Ewbank, appearing for Windalco, said the development came as a surprise. According to the attorney, this is the first time she was being notified of the changes. 

 

The DPP's involvement in environmental prosecutions was announced on January 28, 2025 by then Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn, a move that came in the wake of criticism over the handling of such cases at the parish court level following a controversial case involving Trade Winds Citrus. 

 

The Windalco trial stems from an August 2022 incident in which the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) levelled accusations against the company under the Wild Life Protection Act. 

 

It followed a major fish kill and environmental damage allegedly caused by effluent discharged into the Rio Cobre from a storage pond. 

 

The first witness is scheduled to continue testimony on August 18, 2026.