The Government of Guyana is pressing ahead with its plans to utilise arbitration as a viable alternative to litigation to settle disputes and a unit has been established to liaise with the judiciary and other stakeholders.
The Ministry of Legal Affairs in a release yesterday stated that the government will this year enact a Model Arbitration Bill in keeping with its stated commitment to create a modern platform for arbitration as an effective method of settling commercial and other disputes in Guyana. It further noted that in 2023, the government will continue to offer capacity building by training and education to familiarise stakeholders with the concept, operational value, and benefit of arbitration, in the context of the impending legislative framework.
To this end, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall SC, in moving forward the government’s mandate, has written all relevant stakeholders and circulated The IMPACT Justice Model Arbitration Bill, 2022, for review and comments. The release explained that this Model Arbitration Bill incorporates the key provisions of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Arbitration and was approved by the Caricom Secretariat for implementation by member States in the region.
Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean Project (IMPACT Justice) is a multi-country regional justice sector reform project funded by the Government of Canada, and is implemented from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados through its Project Director Professor Velma Newton, who provided invaluable guidance and support to ensure that Guyana, one day, becomes a modern arbitration hub.
UNCITRAL is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly responsible for helping to facilitate international trade and investment.
The model bill is long overdue. It was originally to be tabled in the National Assembly before the end of 2021. Nandlall later said that it would be tabled by August last year. Tabling has still not occurred.
According to the release yesterday, in keeping with the objective to educate, train and build capacity which formally commenced in 2022, the Ministry of Legal Affairs in collaboration with IMPACT Justice and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Caribbean Branch, Young Members Group, held a virtual workshop on “Drafting Arbitration Clauses: Practical Workshop”, on the 5th and 7th April, 2022.
This workshop, it noted, was extended to all attorneys-at-law through the Bar Association of Guyana, the Berbice Bar Association and also to the Private Sector Commission. Interested persons within those organisations were invited to participate, and upon completion, received certification.
Further, the objective of the workshop was to highlight the relevance of including arbitration clauses in contracts and to provide an introduction to the drafting of enforceable arbitration clauses. This workshop was offered free of charge and sessions were conducted by regional arbitration expert, Shan Greer, who was assisted by Kimberley Williams.
Upon completion, this workshop was followed by yet another, “Roadmap to Implementation of a New Arbitration Law for Guyana and other CARICOM countries” held during May 16, to June 09, 2022, which resulted from a similar collaboration between Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs and IMPACT Justice.
This year, the release said that the Attorney General established an Arbitration Unit, as various stakeholders selected and sent their respective nominees who would be their representative on the Arbitration Unit which comprises members of the Attorney General’s Chambers, The Bar Association of Guyana, Private Sector Commission, and Berbice Bar Association. This Arbitration Unit will liaise with the Judiciary and key stakeholders at periodic intervals as this initiative is part of the Government of Guyana’s declared intention to create a modern infrastructure for the arbitration and conciliation of commercial disputes in Guyana. The inaugural meeting of the Arbitration Unit is fixed for February 06, the release explained.
In addition, plans are in place that will see the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, in collaboration with ROLE UK, embark on an in-person Arbitration Training Workshop, for attorneys-at-law in the public sector with emphasis on The Impact Justice Model Arbitration Bill, 2022. It is scheduled to take place by the end of March and will last for five days.
