Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says the Government\nwill be pushing for more persons to make use of alternative dispute resolution\n(ADR) in settling disputes as the Administration seeks to position Jamaica as\nan international centre for arbitration and mediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that the Government wants to see greater use of ADR\nby neighbours, communities, businesses, and other parties that are in conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to emphasise that starting now and going into 2021,\nthe Ministry of Justice will be focusing on alternative dispute resolution to\nsettle matters right across every nook and cranny of Jamaica and also in the\ncourts. We want Jamaica to be a dispute resolution centre for the Western\nHemisphere and, I dare say, for the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consequently, he noted that more persons will be trained to\nbecome mediators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to be training schoolteachers, pastors,\ncommunity leaders, so that they can be a part of the process of settling\ndisputes before they descend into abuse and violence and eventually ending up in\nthe court. When they get to the courts, we\u2019re hoping that the judges, not only\nin the Supreme Court, but in the parish courts, will refer these matters to\nmediation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minister was speaking following the signing of a\nCooperation Framework Agreement between the Jamaican International Arbitration\nCentre Limited (JIACL) and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) at the JCC\u2019s\noffice in Kingston on Wednesday (Dec. 18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arbitration is a method by which parties to a dispute agree\nto have an independent third party of their choice mediate and make a final and\nbinding decision to settle their dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the cooperation framework, JIACL and the JCC will\njointly promote the use of ADR across the island and in all sectors of the\neconomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They will deliver capacity-building for ADR programmes,\nwhich will include collaborations with other local, regional and international\nparties, with a view of ensuring that a cadre of local practitioners is\nequipped to offer mediation services in setting local and international\ndisputes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister Chuck hailed the signing as a significant step in\nthe country\u2019s push for ADR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am happy to witness this signing and we are really hoping\nthat this will position Jamaica as a centre for arbitration and mediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe want more people across the world to do business here\nand \u2026to see Jamaica as a place to invest and, indeed, when they get into\ndisputes, then they know they can use mediation and arbitration to settle the\nmatters rather than having to take it to court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister Chuck argued that as a centre for arbitration,\nJamaica could see increased earnings to the business sector, tourism, legal\nservices, among other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out that in Singapore, where arbitration\nflourishes, some of the major legal firms get over 50 per cent of their revenue\nfrom ADR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Minister said that the framework will also\ncomplement the country\u2019s Arbitration Bill that was passed in the Senate in\nApril 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill, he said, is based on the guidelines of the Model\nLaw published by the United Nations Commission on International Trade LAW\n(UNCITRAL), and will operate in conjunction with the provisions of the\nArbitration (Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards Act and the\nInvestment Disputes Awards (Enforcement) Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith its passage, Jamaica has joined the large number of\ncountries that have adopted the Model Law and, as such, will benefit from the\ninternationally agreed best practices that are disseminated and promoted by\nUNCITRAL on an ongoing basis,\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President of the JCC, Lloyd Distant Jr., while highlighting\nthe benefits of embracing ADR in easing the pressure on the court system, noted\nthat it is equally important to consider the economic benefits that being the\ncentre of dispute resolution in the hemisphere will bring for Jamaica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary-General for the JAIAC, Dr. Christopher Malcolm,\nfor his part, said he is encouraged by the movement that is taking place with\nregard to ADR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that more persons around the world are recognising that the court system is not able to serve all of their needs and that mediation provides them with greater control of the process and the solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: JIS, December 19, 2019 Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, says the Government will be pushing for more persons to make use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in settling disputes as the Administration seeks to position Jamaica as an international centre for arbitration and mediation. He said that the Government wants to see greater use of ADR by neighbours, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":71761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policies","category-wealth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Written by: Tanesha Mundle
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"