English
In this case, the plaintiff challenged the authorization granted by the Chief Forest Officer to a hydroelectric company to conduct longitudinal and topographical surveys in order to acquire hydrologic data within the Bladen Nature Reserve because those activities would cause irreparable harm to the reserve.
The plaintiff brought the case in front of the Court of first instance. He argued that the authorization of the Chief Forest Officer was ultra vires and required the court to quash it for that reason. The judge of the court of first instance reviewed the activities to be performed within the conduct of the longitudinal and topographical surveys and considered that they in line with the power granted to the administrator of a park under Section 6 of the National Parks System Act and that the Chief Forest Officer was in this case acting as a replacement of the administrator who had not been recruited yet.
The plaintiff sought appeal in front of the Court of Appeal but the court of appeal upheld the decision of the first instance and dismissed the appeal on the ground that the Chief Forest Officer had acted within the limits of the power granted to him as a replacement of the administrator by Section 6 of the National Parks System Act.