CJ urges Attorneys, litigants to use alternative dispute resolution

…says settlement of cases only way to manage high volume of matters

Attorneys-at-Law and parties involved in civil cases are being encouraged by Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George, SC, to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in order to reach mutually beneficial agreements and expedite the conclusion of cases.
While addressing the opening of the Law Year 2024 and the launch of the Judiciary’s seven-year Strategic Plan, Justice George told the gathering, “Let 2024 result in greater settlement of cases, more so through the court mediation services.”
ADR is the general term for any non-litigation dispute resolution process. The most well-known alternative dispute resolution techniques include transaction, negotiation, arbitration, conciliation, and mediation.
Making reference to the reality that Guyana is still a very litigious nation, particularly in the civil jurisdiction, Justice George said, “So I urge our Bar, especially the Demerara Bar, to persuade their clients to focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution and to be more open to mediation and the settlement of cases, thereby allowing for the timely disposition of matters.”
According to her, the Supreme Court of Judicature has, over the years, sponsored mediation training for staff, lawyers, and justice sector partners; with the most recent being mediation training in family matters, which was done in 2023.
“Settlement of cases is the only way to manage the high volume of matters,” Justice George has posited.
President of the Guyana Bar Association, Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith, also spoke at the gathering, and called for sanctions to be imposed on lawyers who file cases that are not meritorious.
He said, “One of the greatest impediments to our efficient judicial system is the number of cases that are filed by attorneys. There is no way — under ideal circumstances, and with all of the resources that could reasonably be made available — that we can reasonably expect that the Judges can dispatch with all of those cases effectively. The number has to be reduced, (and) the only way in which that can be done is if there are consequences for attorneys persisting in cases that don’t belong in court.”
To make his point, Burch-Smith expressed that he was “shocked” and “surprised” when a Judge of the Court of Appeal had resigned a few years ago under uncomplimentary circumstances. According to him, he later learned that the Judge was urged to resign because he had been disbarred in England. “And he was disbarred because he had filed an appeal the Disciplinary Tribunal felt he could not believe to have merit.”

Backlog
Meanwhile, to ease the backlog of cases and reduce remand times, the Government is moving to abolish time-consuming preliminary inquiries for serious criminal matters such as murder, manslaughter, rape and attempted murder. This will be substituted with Paper Committal Proceedings.
The complement of judges and magistrates has been increased, and Government has said it intends to make Guyana the arbitration hub of the Caribbean.
Attorney General Anil Nandlal, SC, had previously noted that arbitration is the ideal method of dispute resolution for the oil and gas sector. According to him, a modern arbitration legislation would instill in international investors the confidence that Guyana can be a competent arbitration hub. In this regard, the Arbitration Bill was presented in the National Assembly for its first reading last December. (G1)