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Trade case filed by Belize against Federation withdrawn from Caribbean Court of Justice

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Minister of International Trade et al, the Honourable Wendy Phipps, said diplomacy and negotiations by the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Office of the Solicitor General, St. Kitts and Nevis has been successful in having the Government of Belize, through its Ministry of International Trade, withdraw the recent case from the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).

Minister Phipps’ comments were voiced during the sitting of the National Assembly on February 18 under Personal Statements by Ministers.

Minister Phipps notified the Honourable House of the lawsuit at the sitting of Parliament on October 13, 2020.

“At that sitting of October 13, 2020, I informed the House about the background to the case,” said the Hon. Phipps. “Belize had accused St. Kitts and Nevis, along with Trinidad & Tobago, of importing sugar from Guatemala and Honduras without the application of the Common External Tariff (CET) to these goods.

“In other words, the State of Belize alleges that St. Kitts and Nevis allowed these imports from Guatemala and Honduras to occur without the necessary taxes being paid, as befitting goods not produced in Caribbean Community (CARICOM),” said the Hon. Phipps. The period in question was November 2018 to June 2020, during which time Belize alleged that the Federation imported some 975 metric tons of sugar imports from Guatemala and Honduras free of duty.”

On December 16, 2020, the Minister of International Trade told Parliament that St. Kitts and Nevis was “definitely at fault for non-application of the 40 percent CET on imports of brown sugar originating outside of CARICOM. The source countries for the sugar were indeed Guatemala and Honduras.”

“Upon discovering this liability, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis would have written to the Government of Belize to begin negotiations geared towards removing the case from the CCJ and settle it amicably between the parties,” said the Hon. Phipps.

“The key features that we would have committed to in that request included (a) immediate re-application of the CET on all non-CARICOM sugar imports, at the established rate of 40%; and (b) settlement on terms of reference insofar as the implementation of a monitoring mechanism that ensures that there will be no future suspension of the CET on non-CARICOM brown sugar unless done, with justification, via the appropriate derogation application to the CARICOM Secretariat and COTED – as per the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” she added.

The Hon. Phipps reported that this discontinuance of the case, an out of court settlement, was ably executed without any financial burden on the Government and Taxpayers of St. Kitts and Nevis.

“I am happy to report that this entire matter has been settled without any financial burden whatsoever on the government and taxpayers of St. Kitts and Nevis contrary to the local political chatter, the innuendo and the conjecture that surrounded the case,” she said.

The Hon. Phipps provided proof of the settlement in the form of a notification of an agreement to discontinue that was filed on January 21, 2021. The document was received by the Attorney General’s Chambers on February 2, 2021.

“Our government would have taken the decision not to make any type of announcement on the issue until we had the official document firmly in our possession,” she said.

The minister said the schedule of the notification of agreement to discontinue has two conditions. They read as follows:

“Pursuant to Part 16.2 (1) of the Caribbean Court of Justice Original Jurisdiction Rules 2019, we the Solicitors of record for the Claimant and the First Defendant in this Originating Application notify this Honourable Court that the Parties have agreed to discontinue proceedings.

“Pursuant to Part 16.2(2) the Parties give further notice that subject to any alteration, or suspension of the CET approved pursuant to Article 83 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, the First Defendant will impose the Customs External Tariff of 40% on the imports of brown sugar from extra-regional countries.”

The Hon. Phipps said that the Team Unity Government is grateful that the matter has been quickly and amicably settled.

“We sincerely trust that our government will never be placed in such a precarious situation again as a result of clear violations of the terms of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” she said. “Our government appreciates the open-mindedness of the Government of Belize in agreeing to remove the case from the CCJ and in also agreeing to settle the matter without compensation of any sort to the Government of Belize.”

She added that the Ministry of International Trade in St. Kitts and Nevis owes a debt of gratitude to the Solicitor General Simone Bullen-Thompson and Attorney General the Honourable Vincent Byron for the “swift and professional and astute manner in which this matter has been disposed of within just four short months.”

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Prince Harry and Meghan won't return as working royals

Buckingham Palace confirmed Friday that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, will not be returning to royal duties, and Harry will give up his honorary military titles — a decision that makes formal, and final, the couple's split from the royal family.

When Harry and Meghan stepped away from full-time royal life in early 2020, it was agreed the situation would be reviewed after a year.

Now it has, and the palace said in a statement that the couple, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have verified "they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family."

It said Queen Elizabeth II had spoken to Harry and confirmed "that in stepping away from the work of the Royal Family, it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service."

RELATED: Duke and Duchess of Sussex expecting their second child

The palace said Harry's appointment as captain general of the Royal Marines and titles with other military groups would revert to the queen before being distributed to other members of the family.

Harry, who served in the British army for a decade and has a close bond with the military, founded the Invictus Games competition for wounded troops.

"While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family," the palace statement said.

Harry and Meghan Commonwealth Day 2020

American actress Meghan Markle, a former star of the TV legal drama Suits, married Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born a year later.

In early 2020, Meghan and Harry announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They live in Santa Barbara, California and are expecting their second child.

They recently announced that they will speak to Oprah Winfrey in a TV special to be broadcast next month.

A spokesperson for the couple hit back at suggestions that Meghan and Harry were not devoted to duty.

"As evidenced by their work over the past year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the UK and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organisations they have represented regardless of official role," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."

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National Assembly passes Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Judicial Officers Pensions) Bill

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (Judicial Officers Pensions) Bill, 2021, a bill to provide for pensions and gratuities payable in respect of the service of judicial officers of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and for related matters, was successfully passed in the National Assembly on Thursday, February 18.

“Overall, this bill seeks to provide a single seamless code for determining entitlement and computation of pension for judicial officers, while also building equity and fairness into the process which would enhance the attractiveness for recruiting suitable persons to the Bench even at later ages than is the current position which detracts many persons who may wish to serve at a later age from being interested in doing so,” said Mover of the Bill, the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Vincent Byron Jr.

Attorney-General Byron said the Bill doesn’t arouse argument or conflict and wished it safe passage.

“Mr. Speaker, this Bill seems very uncontentious and I would say that we have the full support of the Honourable House and will hope that we can continue to attract judges at the highest calibre to sit on the Bench and to be able to provide justice for the people not only of St. Kitts and Nevis but the other members of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court area or the jurisdictions from Grenada all the way up to the British Virgin Islands,” said Minister Byron.

The attorney-general said that good governance is important in the public sector and is at the heart of any successful business or organization.

“The High Court, the Court of Appeal are critical limbs of our governance system. We cannot afford to not have good governance in our country, we cannot do without having impartial judges of high calibre sit and adjudicate matters between our people,” he said. “And so, this Bill helps to improve upon the current arrangements in relation to judges pensions and we wish it safe passage in this Honourable House.”

Some of the highlights of the new Pensions Bill include but are not limited to provision for an early retirement age if this is ever incorporated in the Supreme Court Order, provision for a Master to be paid a Pension under the new Bill and pensionable emoluments to include salary, as well as housing and a utility allowance.

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Choosing to take the COVID-19 vaccine protects oneself and others

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Choosing to take the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine is choosing to protect oneself and others from the deadly COVID-19 virus, according to Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hazel Laws.

Dr. Laws explained this during her presentation at the National Emergency Operations Centre COVID-19 Press Briefing on February 17 at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Headquarters at Lime Kiln.

She revealed her decision to take the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine, which is already in the Federation. Her decision to take the vaccine is because it minimizes her risk of becoming severely ill or dying.

“If I were to contract the disease, one of five things can happen to me,” said Dr. Laws. “I can recover without any symptoms; or I may develop mild symptoms via cough, runny nose, stuffiness and then recover; I can become moderately ill and recover, or I can become severely ill or die.

“If I decide to take the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine, the scientists and the clinical data assure me that I will be protected from severe illness and death from COVID.

“Even when we vaccinate our people, we are going to have to continue adhering to the public health measures of wearing our face mask, maintaining adequate hand hygiene, and maintaining a safe distance from others when in public,” said Dr. Laws.

“We will have to continue these essential public health options until a significant proportion of our population has developed immunity against this virus, and until a significant proportion of our population has received the vaccine,” she concluded.

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Reports of Gruesome Ethiopian Massacre by Eritrean Forces

An elderly woman who fled to the city of Axum in the Tigray region of Ethiopia to seek safety sits with her head bandaged after being wounded during an attack on the city, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. She later died of her wounds. As Ethiopia’s Tigray region slowly resumes telephone service after three months of conflict, witnesses gave The Associated Press a detailed account of what might be its deadliest massacre, at the sacred Ethiopian Orthodox church in Axum. (AP Photo)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Bodies with gunshot wounds lay in the streets for days in Ethiopia’s holiest city. At night, residents listened in horror as hyenas fed on the corpses of people they knew. But they were forbidden from burying their dead by the invading Eritrean soldiers.

Those memories haunt a deacon at the country’s most sacred Ethiopian Orthodox church in Axum, where local faithful believe the ancient Ark of the Covenant is housed. As Ethiopia’s Tigray region slowly resumes telephone service after three months of conflict, the deacon and other witnesses gave The Associated Press a detailed account of what might be its deadliest massacre.

For weeks, rumors circulated that something ghastly had occurred at the Church of St. Mary of Zion in late November, with estimates of several hundred people killed. But with Tigray cut off from the world and journalists blocked from entering, little could be verified as Ethiopian and allied fighters pursued the Tigray region’s fugitive leaders.

The deacon, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he remains in Axum, said he helped count the bodies — or what was left after hyenas fed. He gathered victims’ identity cards and assisted with burials in mass graves.

He believes some 800 people were killed that weekend at the church and around the city, and that thousands in Axum have died in all. The killing continues: On the day he spoke to the AP last week he said he had buried three people.

“If we go to the rural areas, the situation is much worse,” the deacon said.

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The atrocities of the Tigray conflict have occurred in the shadows. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for making peace with neighboring Eritrea, announced the fighting as the world focused on the U.S. election. He accused Tigray’s regional forces, whose leaders dominated Ethiopia for nearly three decades before he took office, of attacking the Ethiopian military. Tigray’s leaders called it self-defense after months of tensions.

While the world clamors for access to Tigray to investigate suspected atrocities on all sides and deliver aid to millions of hungry people, the prime minister has rejected outside “interference.” He declared victory in late November and said no civilians had been killed. His government denies the presence of thousands of soldiers from Eritrea, long an enemy of the Tigray leaders.

Ethiopia’s narrative, however, has crumbled as witnesses like the deacon emerge. The foreign ministry on Thursday acknowledged that “rape, plunder, callous & intentional mass killings” could occur in a conflict where “many are illegally armed.” Its statement blamed Tigray forces for leaving the region “vulnerable” and said any serious offense will be investigated. It did not mention Eritrean soldiers.

Axum, with its ancient ruins and churches, holds major significance for the Ethiopian Orthodox faithful, who believe that the Ark of the Covenant, built to hold the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments, is located there.

“If you attack Axum, you attack first of all the identity of Orthodox Tigrayans but also of all Ethiopian Orthodox Christians,” said Wolbert Smidt, an ethnohistorian who specializes in the region. “Axum itself is regarded as a church in the local tradition, ‘Axum Zion.’”

In a normal year, thousands of people would have gathered at the Zion church in late November to celebrate the day Ethiopians believe the Ark of the Covenant was brought there after it disappeared from Jerusalem in ancient times.

Instead, the church had become a refuge for people who fled the fighting elsewhere in Tigray. They sheltered there as worship services were underway two days before the anniversary.

Eritrean and Ethiopian soldiers had arrived in Axum more than a week earlier, with heavy bombardment. But on Nov. 28 the Eritrean soldiers returned in force to hunt down members of the local militia who had mobilized against them in Axum and nearby communities.

The deacon recalled soldiers bursting into the church, cornering and dragging out worshippers and shooting at those who fled.

“I escaped by chance with a priest,” he said. “As we entered the street, we could hear gunfire all over.” They kept running, stumbling over the dead and wounded along with others trying to find places to hide.

Most of the hundreds of victims were killed that day, he said, but the shooting and looting continued the following day.

“They started to kill people who were moving from church to home or home to home, simply because they were on the street,” another witness, visiting university lecturer Getu Mak, told the AP. “It was a horrible act to see.” He watched the fighting from his hotel room, then ventured out as it eased.

“On every corner, almost, there was a body,” he said. “People were crying in every home.”

Another witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said soldiers killed a man at his home near the Zion church. “How can I tell you? So many dead,” said the man, who has since escaped to the Tigray capital, Mekele.

After the killings in Axum came an uneasy period with soldiers roaming the streets and families searching for loved ones. At night, hyenas descended from nearby hills.

The city began to smell of death as some bodies went untouched for days.

“I saw a horse cart carrying around 20 bodies to the church, but Eritrean soldiers stopped them and told people to throw them back on the street,” said Getu, the university lecturer.

Witnesses elsewhere in Tigray have reported being unable to bury bodies, calling it an added insult. They say soldiers tell them that “no one mourned our fighters, so why should we let you mourn?”

Finally, when the soldiers left the city to pursue other fighters, residents mobilized to bury the bodies, the deacon said.

“We could not do a formal burial,” he said. “We buried them en masse” in graves near the Zion church and others.

Some of the dead were among the hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray displaced by the conflict and not known to Axum residents. Their identity cards were collected in churches, where they await the discovery of loved ones.

The deacon said residents believe the Eritrean soldiers were taking revenge for the two-decade border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea that played out nearby and ended after Abiy became prime minister. Some of the soldiers told residents they had been instructed to kill people as young as 12, he said.

Another witness, a 39-year-old who gave only his first name, Mhretab, and escaped weeks ago to the United States, asserted that Ethiopian federal police did nothing to rein in the Eritrean soldiers.

“I said to them, ’Listen, you’re Ethiopian, they’re destroying Ethiopian cities. How is this possible?‴ Mhretab recalled.

”They said, ‘What can we do? This shouldn’t have happened from the beginning. This is from above,’” indicating that it had been decided by senior officials, he said.

He said he ferried bodies to a mass grave by the Zion church and estimated that he saw 300 to 400 there.

The deacon believes that the Eritrean soldiers, in their hunt for Tigray fighters, have killed thousands more people in villages outside Axum. “When they fight and lose, they take revenge on the farmers and kill everyone they can find,” he said. “This is what we’ve seen in the past three months.”

Getu echoed that belief, citing his uncle, who survived such a rural confrontation.

The deacon has not gone to the villages outside Axum. His work remains with his church, where services continue even as he says the Tigray conflict is as fierce as ever.

“We’re also protecting the church,” he said. “Even now, I’m talking to you from there. We are not armed. What we do is mostly watching. And, of course, praying that God protects us.”

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UK PM Pledges Surplus Corona Vaccine to Poor Nations

UK PM Boris Johnson will lead efforts to fend off accusations that the world’s richest countries are hoarding Covid vaccines by pledging at a G7 summit that the UK will donate surplus doses to poorer countries and cut to 100 days the time it takes to produce new jabs.

Both Russia and China are threatening to win an escalating vaccine diplomacy war by sending their vaccines direct to Africa, while the G7 club of wealthy nations continues to pile up surplus supplies as insurance against stocks running out.

Johnson, who is chairing the first meeting of the G7 attended by new US president Joe Biden, found himself forced to share some of the limelight with the French president Emmanuel Macron. On Thursday Macron announced a parallel plan for 5% of Europe’s vaccine stocks to be sent to Africa now, saying his proposal had the backing of the German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Underlining the political and moral necessity of acting quickly, Macron said: “We are allowing the idea to take hold [that] hundreds of millions of vaccines are being given in rich countries and that we are not starting in poor countries.

“It’s an unprecedented acceleration of global inequality and it’s politically unsustainable too because it is paving the way for a war of influence over vaccines. You can see the Chinese strategy and the Russian strategy too.”

The UN secretary general António Guterres said on Wednesday that the distribution of vaccines across the globe was “wildly unfair and uneven”. Just 10 countries have administered 75% of all Covid-19 vaccines while more than 130 countries have not received a single dose. He said: “Those affected by conflict and insecurity are at particular risk of being left behind. At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community.”

It comes as charities claimed the nations of the G7 – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – have collectively pre-ordered 1.5bn more vaccines than their population size justifies.

Christian Aid’s head of advocacy Fiona Smyth said: “We need the nations of the G7 to display values of equality and solidarity, and to stop hoarding excess supplies of vaccines. It’s time that they shared the vaccine recipes with the world so we can make enough vaccines for the world – not just for the richest countries and people. The G7 should ensure that companies share their information, data, biological material, knowhow, technology and intellectual property.”

Johnson will say that the UK will share any surplus vaccines and vow to cut the time it takes to develop a vaccine from the unprecedented 300 days achieved last year to 100 days.

While the UK has seen one of the world’s highest coronavirus death tolls per capita, it has flourished in the development, purchase and distribution of vaccines, with one of the biggest orders of successful jabs.

Johnson confirmed he has asked Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, to work with international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and industry and scientific experts, to advise the G7 on speeding up the process for developing vaccines, treatments and tests for common pathogens.

The development of a coronavirus vaccine in approximately 300 days has been generally regarded as a great global achievement but inter-company competition, different regulatory approval processes and commercial secrecy may have created delays. The ambition to cut the process to 100 days was proposed by CEPI earlier this year.

The UK believes greater international collaboration to intensify research and development, modernise medical trials and create more innovative vaccine manufacturing and supply chains could speed the process and save lives. Advanced western economies have not been able to find a way to suppress the virus except through near total shutdowns of their economies.

The UK, in common with the US, is listed as having ordered or pre-purchased four times as many vaccines as its population needs but officials said they will not be able to identify the true size of the surplus until much later in the year. Officials need to assess continued supply chain reliability and whether new vaccines are needed for variants or as a booster dose in the autumn. Countries say they “over-ordered” since there was no certainty that any particular vaccine would succeed or when it would be available so, rather than backing a single horse, countries are spreading their bets.

Macron’s initiative and accompanying interview in the Financial Times more directly acknowledges the damaging perception that the west is ignoring the plight of the poor, and as a result needs to move quickly by handing out 5% of its supplies. He described the plan as a “test of multilateralism. It’s not about vaccine diplomacy. It’s not a power game it’s a matter of public health.”

He argued that unless the vaccine is brought under control everywhere, the virus will mutate and return to Europe in new more virulent forms. He also broached the issue of ending pharmaceutical companies’ control of intellectual property rights saying he did not think the debate was helpful.

G7 nations, instead of sending vaccines direct to Africa, have been funding a complex scheme known as Covax to provide vaccines. All the vaccines that Covax bought first need WHO approval before distribution. Oxford/AstraZeneca, one of the vaccines on which Covax is relying, had to wait until this week to receive WHO approval.

The drug seemed the most suitable for countries such as those in Africa since it is easier to ship and store in a regular fridge than other vaccines, making it suitable for remote areas. Some 2.3bn doses of AstraZeneca’s two-shot regimen were pre-purchased. At least 50 countries had cleared it for use before WHO’s decision.

But questions have been raised about the shot’s effectiveness against some strains such as the one discovered in South Africa and some countries are limiting its use. Many African countries do not have the ability to detect the nature of the Covid strains active in their country. By contrast China has been sending its vaccine to the Sahel, Turkey, and Serbia.

Johnson will also be encouraging G7 leaders to increase their funding for Covax in support of equitable access to vaccines. The UK has already pledged £548m and Germany is expected to increase its funding at the summit.

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ON THAT NOTE–

The EU’s executive commission plans to double its contribution to the World Health Organization’s Covax programme, bringing the 27-nation bloc’s commitment to the initiative to deliver vaccines to poor nations to €1bn ($1.2bn).

The Associated Press reports:

According to an EU official who spoke anonymously, the European commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen, will make the announcement later Friday during a meeting of the leaders of the Group of Seven economic powers.
The official was not authorised to speak publicly because details have not been made public.
Von der Leyen will also announce an additional €100m ($121.4m) to support vaccination campaigns in Africa in partnership with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The EU is one of the leading donors to the Covax programme, which aims to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 shots for low-and middle-income countries. Covax hopes to deploy some 336m doses by the end of June, and around 2bn doses by the end of the year.
But the programme has already missed the goal of starting vaccination in poor countries at the same time that doses were rolled out in rich countries.
This week, the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, sharply criticised the “wildly uneven and unfair” distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, saying 10 countries had administered 75% of the vaccinations given worldwide so far and demanding a global effort to get all people in every nation vaccinated as soon as possible.
Amnesty International said a failure to ensure global access to vaccines represented “an abject moral failure that will ultimately harm rich countries”

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Associated Press World View: Texas Lights-Up, Biden on Iran, Climate Pact
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AP MORNING WIRE

TED ANTHONY

Director of Digital Innovation

THE RUNDOWN

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Lights come back on in Texas as water woes rise in the South

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Many of the millions of Texans who lost power for days after a deadly winter blast overwhelmed the electric grid now have it back, but the crisis was far from over in parts of……Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it’s ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp repudiation of former President Donald… …Read More

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The United States is back in the Paris climate accord, just 107 days after it left. While Friday’s return is heavily symbolic, world leaders say they expect America to prove its seriousness… …Read More

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For years, Facebook has been in a defensive crouch amid a slew of privacy scandals, antitrust lawsuits and charges that it was letting hate speech and extremism destroy democracy. Early Thursday,… …Read More

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA rover streaked through the orange Martian sky and landed on the planet Thursday, accomplishing the riskiest step yet in an epic quest to bring back rocks that… …Read More

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DALLAS (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said his family vacation to Mexico was “obviously a mistake” as he returned stateside Thursday following an uproar over his disappearance du…Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden will make his first big appearance on the global stage as president on Friday, offering Group of Seven allies and other foreign leaders a glimpse …Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers in Washington are digging into the GameStop saga at a congressional hearing. The episode has been portrayed as a victory of the little guy over Wa…Read More

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below. “I got out there an…Read More

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UK top court rules Uber drivers are 'workers', not independent contractors

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Uber must classify its drivers as workers and not independent contractors, a decision that could deliver a major blow to the company's business model in one of its most important markets.

The court said on Friday that an employment tribunal had been right to find that Uber drivers are workers, dismissing an appeal by the company. The decision was unanimous. Uber drivers are workers, the court said, because the company sets fares, and exercises significant control over drivers who use the app.

Uber said before the pandemic 3.5 million Londoners regularly used its app and had 45,000 drivers in the capital, and 65,000 across the UK.

READ MORE: Family of Uber driver allegedly murdered by passenger searching for answers.

While the practical effects of the ruling are not yet clear, the decision could change how Uber does business in the UK. The company may be forced to grant additional benefits to drivers including paid time off and a minimum wage. The next step is for an employment tribunal to decide how to compensate dozens of claimants.

READ MORE: Uber introduces new public transport feature in world-first for Sydney.

The case may also set a precedent for other workers and companies in the broader gig economy, which has thrived during the pandemic due to a sharp increase in demand for food deliveries and other services.

The suit against Uber was first filed in a British employment tribunal by Yaseen Aslam and James Farrar in 2016 when the two men were driving for Uber. Aslam used to work for another company, but said he was lured to Uber by lucrative pay and bonuses.

READ MORE: Uber goes to UK tribunal on worker rights

But Aslam claimed the perks quickly dried up as more drivers joined the platform, resulting in fewer rides and lower fares. The pair of drivers prevailed in the employment tribunal and then in two subsequent appeals by the company.

"I am overjoyed and greatly relieved by this decision, which will bring relief to so many workers in the gig economy who so desperately need it. During the six years of these proceedings, we have watched the government commission and then shelve a review of the gig economy yet do nothing to help us," Aslam said in a statement on Friday.

The case now goes back to the employment tribunal, which could order Uber to pay compensation to about 20 original claimants.

Thousands of other drivers have taken legal action against Uber, and the decision could be quickly applied to them.

Drivers who used the platform at the time of the suit may also be eligible to make a claim for compensation.