GREENPEACE VOWS TO FIGHT ON AFTER LOSING COURT BATTLE ON TECHNICALITY

GREENPEACE VOWS TO FIGHT ON AFTER LOSING COURT BATTLE ON TECHNICALITY: LEGAL UNCERTAINTY STILL HANGS OVER ATLANTIC FRONTIER 14 October 1997 Greenpeace has vowed to fight on after losing its application for a Judicial investigation of the Government's oil licensing of the Atlantic Frontier on a legal technicality. After an unprecedented three day leave hearing and a three week long reserved judgment, Mr Justice Laws rejected the application on the grounds that Greenpeace should have brought the challenge earlier. Mr Justice Laws made no decision on the legality of the oil licensing, which remains undecided. At no time did he dispute that Greenpeace had an arguable case against the Government and Greenpeace said that the threat of a legal challenge to future licensing rounds had not gone away. Greenpeace announced that it would now consider alternative legal routes to get the environmental substance of its case considered and would immediately raise the issue in Europe. The legal options open to Greenpeace include: an appeal against Mr Justice Laws' decision; an official complaint to the European Commission and the lodging of the same Judicial Review against future licensing rounds. Executive Director of Greenpeace, Peter Melchett said, "Our case remains valid and doubt still shrouds oil industry and Government activity in the Atlantic Frontier. We will continue to oppose the Atlantic Frontier development on all fronts. The support for our campaign is there and this case has shown just how out of step the Government is with public opinion." Leave hearings usually last a matter of hours but this one ran for three days as the combined might of the Government and 30 oil companies, represented by three QCs and three juniors, fought to have the application rejected. MORE...Greenpeace vows to fight on after losing court battle on technicality Peter Melchett said, "The Government is determined to protect oil interests from the inconvenience of public and legal debate. They have gagged us inside the court but they cannot gag us outside. We will continue to campaign against this futile and dangerous exploration and we will continue to raise the climate oil question. Eventually this Government will have to answer us - when will it put climate protection ahead of oil interests and stop expanding fossil fuel reserves." The campaign has received wide support from other environmental organisations (many of whom joined Greenpeace outside the High Court) 90 MPs, celebrities and nearly 200,000 members of the public who signed a petition calling on Tony Blair to abandon the oil development in the Atlantic Frontier. Greenpeace criticised the Government for the lengths to which it has gone to prevent public scrutiny of its oil licensing in the Atlantic Frontier. Because the Government did not ensure an Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out before licenses were granted, there was no effective public consultation about the plans. Throughout the Greenpeace campaign to stop the exploration the Government has worked with the oil industry to minimise public awareness of the campaign and then collaborated with the industry once again to prevent a Judicial Review from being heard. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Greenpeace Press Office on 0171-865 8255/6/7/8 Mirella Lindenfels at the Middlesborough Court on 01399 1133 pager 787 076