… says method can cut backlog of cases, deliver timelier justice
EVEN as government remains committed to ensuring that mediation is utilised in the judicial process, there are attorneys within the legal fraternity who are not embracing the method in a conciliatory mindset.
This came to the fore on Thursday at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop in which top officials and other members of the judiciary, mediation experts from Guyana and overseas gathered at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Kingston for a two–day refresher training workshop.
Mediation Coordinator, Colin Chichester, told the gathering which included Attorney General Basil Williams; Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards; Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Lillian Chatterjee; Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan and several high court judges among others, that to date close to 1,000 matters have been referred to the Mediation Institute and of that number, 354 were successful while 420 were unsuccessful. He said the numbers suggest that there is an imbalance in persons arriving at an agreement.
Chichester said that there are attorneys who are not embracing mediation with a more conciliatory mindset. ”We find also that the attorneys tend not to orient their clients to the fact that they should expect a more embracing environment,” he said. “The non-attorney mediators are not being utilised, as opposed to attorneys.”
The Attorney General told the gathering that mediation, along with other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods serve as potent tools for resolving disputes. He said that mediation, when used properly, has the effect of reducing the backlog of cases and allows for timelier access to justice. “Apart from time, it is cheaper than litigation, saves money and avoids cases being continued by appeals. It also gives persons the liberty to resolve their own disputes as mediation proceedings are not bound by the rules of evidence or any rigid procedure,” he noted.
Meanwhile, AG Williams, who is also a trained mediator, said that the Government of Guyana remains committed to ensure the judiciary functions to the benefit of all. This Government remains open to working closely with the judiciary, the bar, the mediation centre and other persons, so that together we can deliver a justice system that works for the benefit of all,” he noted.
Williams said too that in the long run, the success of mediation will depend on its acceptance by the legal profession, other professions, the business community and the public at large. “To achieve this, all concerned must gain and enhance their understanding of mediation and its advantages,” he added.
Courtesy: www.guyanachronicle.com
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