UNITED STATES DISMISSES BVI PREMIER'S IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION CLAIM, AS HE DOES NOT QUALIFY AS HEAD OF STATE

As many court watchers expected, The United States Department of Justice has summarily dismissed as legally insufficient British Virgin Islands Premier Andres Fahie's Notice of Invocation of Immunity,  in a court filing in Fahie's recently filed narcotics trafficking and money laundering case in US District Court in Miami. 

We previously observed, on this blog, that since the British Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, and not a sovereign state, the Head of State immunity is not available to the BVI Premier; Fahie's reliance upon that principle of international law is misplaced. He cannot use it to evade justice.

 Additionally, the US filing points out that Fahie was not on official BVI government business to the American government, which operates as another requirement of access to Head of State immunity which he fails to meet. We also see that the Government's response notes that the filing of Fahie's Notice has no legal effect under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or any statutory authority.

While it is obvious that the Notice is not supported by the law, in any way, we expect that Fahie's counsel will seek to appeal any adverse court ruling that is handed down, for the purposes of delay, as a matter of strategy, but since we expect his client to remain in custody until trial, is that wise ? The law is clear, and dilatory actions such as bringing a frivolous appeal will only delay the administration of justice.