Belize’s Supreme Court declared offshore drilling contracts issued by the government of Belize (in 2004 and 2007) null and void on April 16, providing a dramatic and potentially definitive setback to the government and the petroleum prospecting companies issued the contracts.

The ruling, handed down by Justice Oswell Legall, was in response to a case brought by Oceana, COLA, and the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage. It effectively ends the Belizean government’s immediate effort to allow offshore oil drilling in the Meso American Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world.

The court overturned the contracts after determining that the government failed to assess the environmental impact on Belize’s ocean, as required by law, prior to issuing the contracts. The court also found that contracts were made to companies that did not demonstrate a proven ability to contribute the necessary funds, assets, machinery, equipment, tools, and technical expertise to drill safely.

Oceana has campaigned against offshore drilling in Belize for more than two years. In 2011, after collecting the more than 20,000 signatures required to trigger a national referendum that would allow the public to vote on whether to allow offshore oil drilling in Belize’s reef, the government disqualified more than 8,000 of these signatures effectively on the basis of poor penmanship, stopping the possibility of a vote.

Oceana answered by quickly organizing the nation’s first ever “People’s Referendum” on Feb. 29, 2012, in which 29,235 people came from all over the country to cast their votes. In this historic vote, 96% voted against offshore exploration and drilling. The government subsequently almost lost its majority in the national election that followed these votes. Oceana is fighting for a complete ban on offshore drilling in Belize and believes the government of Belize should allow the people to express their opinion in an official referendum.