Prince of Wales told to reveal duchy’s environmental impact
Note: This article is from the Guardian.
This article titled “Prince of Wales told to reveal duchy’s environmental impact” was written by Robert Booth, for The Guardian on Thursday 3rd November 2011 17.29 UTCPrince Charles’s attempts to keep the activities of the Duchy of Cornwall confidential have been hit by a judge’s ruling that the £700m estate should be considered a public authority and not a private estate.
The information tribunal ordered that the duchy must release information about its activities as they affect the environment.
The prince’s lawyers had fought attempts to access files concerning a controversial non-native oyster farm in a special area of conservation by claiming it was a private estate.
The decision means that the duchy, which provides the prince with his income, will be exposed to significant public scrutiny for the first time and its decisions could now be subject to judicial review under environmental information regulations.
It comes in the week a Guardian investigation revealed the extent and secrecy of the prince’s veto over government policy that affects the duchy.
The test case involved a local environmental campaigner, Michael Bruton, who was concerned about the duchy leasing waters for farming Pacific oysters in the Lower Fal and Helford intertidal area in Cornwall.
Bruton asked the duchy what assessments it had made of the environmental impact of the lease. The duchy refused to answer, saying it was a private estate. John Angel, principal judge at the information tribunal, said he believed that no assessment had been carried out.
He said that a key reason the Duchy should be considered a public authority was that it effectively provided public funding to the Prince of Wales.
He also pointed out that the duchy operated as the harbour authority in the Scilly Isles and had the role of dealing with intestacy and company failure in the County of Cornwall, which were effectively public roles.
Bruton said: “This case is a victory for the environment. The duchy and the prince have held out in their claim to be exempt from the law on environmental protection for too long.”
Kate Harrison, who acted for Bruton, said: “This could help allay the public disquiet about the little known powers exercised by the Prince of Wales and the duchy.
“This decision will lead to better environmental protection of 180 miles of coastline, 54,000 hectares of land, most of the Isles of Scilly, 1,700 hectares of woodland and most of Cornwall’s rivers, all of which are owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.
“European law requires that public authorities release information about the environment under their control. This judgment will quite rightly open up the duchy to public and democratic scrutiny.”
A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales said the duchy was reviewing the tribunal’s reasons for reaching its conclusion before deciding whether to appeal against the decision.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
Cambodia celebrates ex-king’s birthday
Below: Cambodia’s former king, Norodom Sihanouk (at center in first photo), addresses a crowd at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh on October 30, 2011. Cambodians were celebrating the former king’s 89th birthday. Sihanouk was born on October 31, 1922.
Also shown in the first photo below: Sihanouk’s wife, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath (at right) and Sihanouk and Monineath’s son Norodom Sihamoni (left), who is Cambodia’s current king.
Qatar to hold first national election
Note: This article is from the Guardian.
The Gulf state of Qatar is to hold its first national election for a royal advisory body – another sign that the upheavals of the Arab spring are prompting defensive reactions across the region.
The announcement, by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, signals an important, if largely symbolic, advance for a tiny country whose great wealth has allowed it to punch above its weight internationally, but without so far adopting the democratic standards it advocates for others.
Elections to the country’s Shura (consultative) council are to be held in the second half of 2013, though it is unclear whether it will be given legislative powers. Under Qatar’s 2003 constitution, 30 of the council’s 45 members will be elected and the remaining 15 appointed.
“We know that all these steps are necessary to build the modern state of Qatar and the Qatari citizen who is capable of dealing with the challenges of the time and building the country,” the emir told the council. “We are confident that you would be capable of shouldering the responsibility.”
Qatar has played a big role supporting the Arab uprisings of the last year, especially in Libya, where it was the first foreign government to recognise the Benghazi-based rebels and sent money, weapons and troops to help them.
Al-Jazeera, the Doha-based satellite TV channel that Qatar owns, has acted as a cheerleader for revolutions from Tunisia to Syria while the domestic politics of Qatar have remained more or less off-limits. Until now it has only held municipal elections.
But Qatar’s room for manoeuvre is also constrained by its powerful neighbour Saudi Arabia. Qatar took part in the Saudi-led intervention that crushed pro-democracy protests in Bahrain earlier this year. Bahrain and Kuwait both have relatively developed parliamentary systems.
“The Qataris are making concessions – either because they are genuinely nervous or because they feel they need to make a gesture,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the London School of Economics. “There is no pressure from Qatari citizens for a participatory opening. But the emir may feel he does not want to be outflanked by other Gulf countries and he thinks this a safe enough way to respond to the zeitgeist of the Arab spring.”
The official Qatar news agency quoted the emir as saying: “We must not only congratulate ourselves on our achievements, but we have to check whether our visions and aspirations are compatible with the expectations and hopes of our peoples.”
Qatar is attuned to its international image, especially after winning the bid to host the World Cup in 2022.
The country’s natural gas riches allow its population of just 350,000 nationals out of a resident population of 1.7 million to enjoy the world’s highest income per head, currently ,721 (£47,000) – and a comfortable cushion against unrest. Even so, in September, the government raised salaries, pensions and benefits for state and military employees by 60%, a move widely seen as an attempt to preserve stability.
Qatar’s responses mirror recent moves by other Arab monarchies to stave off popular unrest. The Saudis have invested billions of dollars in social welfare and job creation schemes while the king of Jordan has sacked two prime ministers and promised more reforms. Morocco is drawing up constitutional amendments to entrench democratic institutions and rights.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010
Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.
World of Royalty Blog- Banqueting with British royalty
- “A preposterous charade”
- Elizabeth II’s Maids of Honour
- Sneak peek: February 2012 new royalty books
- Naughty butler’s Coach Trip
- Royal Ascot pins down hat guidelines
- Royal Week in Review – January 21, 2012
- Robin Gibb to honour Titanic victims in first classical composition
- Image in a stained-glass window
- Pippa and the paparazzi
