In 2007 and 2010, Conteh authored two decisions affirming the common law doctrine of aboriginal title and the existence of Maya customary land tenure in the Toledo District of Belize. Only the villages of Conejo and Santa Cruz were parties to the 2008 ruling; however, the 2010 ruling was the result of a representative 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.