The High Court has dismissed yet another legal challenge brought by Opposition Leader and United Workers Party (UWP) Political Leader Allen Chastanet against Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire and the Government of Saint Lucia, this time refusing an application for an injunction to stop options of the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
In a detailed 30-page ruling delivered this week, the Court found no merit in Chastanet’s application, which sought to restrain the government and the CIP Unit from granting citizenship to investors allegedly in breach of investment requirements under the programme’s Enterprise Projects component.
Hogh Court Judge Madame Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence, ruled that the injunction would “serve no useful purpose” since the Enterprise Projects and their underlying agreements had already been suspended. The Court agreed that granting such an injunction could negatively affect public confidence in the CIP and potentially harm the local economy.
“An injunction as sought could impact the CIP Programme as a whole since it could be seen as a sign that there are problems with the programme and weaken applicants’ confidence in it,” the judgment stated.
The Court also dismissed the application on several procedural and substantive grounds. It found that Chastanet failed to comply with pre-action protocols and had delayed in bringing the matter before the Court despite publicly raising his concerns for months, but never in a format required by law.
“Compliance with the Pre-Action Protocols is not merely a matter of choice,” the judge emphasized, adding that failure to do so could result in adverse cost orders.
The ruling further underscored that the injunction was unnecessary because existing legislation already requires full payment of investments before citizenship is granted. The Court held that the issues raised could be adequately addressed if Chastanet’s main claim succeeds when it goes to trial.
“An injunction to restrain the defendants from granting citizenship to persons where the full investment sum has not been paid is superfluous as the Act already makes this a requirement,” the judgment stated.
Citing the principles of balance of convenience and public interest, the Court concluded that refusing the injunction would cause less harm than granting it.
“Considering where the greater risk of injustice would lie, the Court is of the view that the dismissal of this injunction would create the least impact when the case is determined,” the ruling noted.
The judge also cautioned that allegations of fraud and illegality required a higher standard of proof, and that no immediate risk existed since the projects in question had already been suspended.
The Court further stated “At this stage, I would agree with the defendants about the speculative nature of the
evidence in relation to the claimant’s allegations that the minimum investments required to be paid into the escrow account are not actually being met by applicants. It is not clear from any of the evidence provided by the claimant that there is underselling. That evidence at this stage is based on what the claimant alleges is happening in other countries and what he has been told by third parties…”
Ultimately, the Court ordered that Chastanet pay costs to the defendants, Dr. Hilaire and the CIP Unit, to be agreed within 21 days, or assessed if no agreement is reached.
The substantive claim filed by Chastanet on February 20, 2025, will now proceed to its first hearing on January 26, 2026, where the court will consider the full merits of the case.
This decision marks another courtroom setback for the Opposition Leader in his series of legal confrontations with Dr. Hilaire, stemming from long-running disputes dating back to the former UWP administration’s handling of the CIP and other public sector matters.
Just recently, the CCJ, the island’s final appellate court ruled against the former Saint Lucian Prime Minister in the matter of the importation of a vehicle.
