action on behalf of all the Maya communities. The ruling voided all government leases, concessions, grants, and contracts adverse to the Maya tenure. The "landmark victory" is predicted to have "far-reaching implications" for "logging, mining, and petroleum concessions in what the Maya community claims is over 500,000 acres of ancestral homeland." The government appealed the decision to the Caribbean Court of Justice, where on the eve of the hearing it conceded all of Justice Conteh's original holdings. The CCJ later awarded the Maya damages for violation of their constitutional right to have their property legally protected. Conteh turned 65 on 5 August 2010, forcing him to retire since his contract was not renewed by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Barrow's decision not to offer Conteh a renewal was condemned by the Belize Bar Association in a resolution criticising the "unseemly manner in which the tenure of the chief justice has been treated by the government of Belize." His retirement became a "national political issue because the Chief Justice is popular with the masses of the Belizean people, and is regarded by many as fair-minded and fearless. Several of his landmark rulings particularly on constitutional issues are considered "anti-government" and "anti-establishment," and many were made even under the former Musa administration." Other Judicial Appointments In December 2008, Dr. Conteh was appointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands. In 2010, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas, where he served until November, 2015. Personal life Dr. Conteh is married to Radia Labi Conteh and they have 6 children. References External links belizelaw.org 1945 births Living people Vice-presidents of Sierra Leone Alumni of King's College London Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Chief justices of Belize Foreign Ministers of Sierra Leone 20th-century Sierra Leonean lawyers Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of the Bahamas Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of Belize Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of the Cayman Islands Susu people Attorneys-general of Sierra Leone Finance ministers of Sierra Leone Government ministers of Sierra Leone People from Port Loko District People from Freetown 21st-century Sierra Leonean judges