Belize

The case concerned extradition proceedings initiated by the United States against a Belizean attorney accused of participating in money laundering activities connected to drug trafficking. The extradition request relied in part on WhatsApp communications exchanged with an undercover DEA agent, which the lower courts had previously considered unlawfully obtained under Belize’s Interception of Communications Act and therefore unconstitutional. Before the Caribbean Court of Justice, it emerged that the statute relied upon by the lower courts had not yet entered into force at the relevant time, rendering the prior findings per incuriam. The Court held that the constitutional issues concerning the use of WhatsApp communications without judicial authorisation had not been properly argued and should not be resolved hypothetically on appeal. The decisions of the lower courts were therefore set aside and the matter remitted to the High Court for reconsideration of the constitutional questions.