Over 100 cases referred to Mediation Centre
Deemed 'valuable venture'
Stabroek News
May 4, 2004
Over 100 cases have been referred to the Mediation Centre that was launched this year as an alternative means of settling disputes and the police force is to be mobilised to help settle grievances at an early stage.
Attorney-at-law, Teni Housty, one of the mediators, says the project has seen a promising response.
The Mediation Centre of Guyana (MCG) is a project that was initiated by the Supreme Court of Guyana and implemented by the Carter Center Guyana with funding from the United States Agency for International Development to assist in reducing the backlog of cases before the local courts.
Stabroek News spoke with Housty, one of 25 lawyers trained as mediators by Carter Center consultants last year September, about the public's response to the MCG and its progress to date.
According to Housty, a total of 104 cases has been referred to the MCG for mediation, 40 of these are at some stage of mediation [that is an attorney has been consulted and a mediator has been selected], nearly 30 of the 104 cases started at the mediation level, about 20 of the cases that have been referred to the MCG are completed with around half of that number successfully mediated upon.
Teni Housty
In March, Housty disclosed, the Carter Center consultants conducted an evaluation with the local mediators and it was determined that the project is a "valuable and productive" venture.
However, there is need to broaden the public's awareness of the project through a more widespread public relations campaign, if persons are to be adequately informed about the advantages it offers and benefit from them, Housty pointed out. He said moves in this direction have already been made, one of the first being full-page advertisements in the newspapers.
The mediators are highly qualified individuals, Housty assured, adding that one of them, attorney-at-law Raphael Trotman, has a Master of Arts degree in Dispute Resolution.
Additionally, Housty continued, the MCG is now attempting to promote the use of mediation to the Guyana Police Force as part of the initial investigation process in criminal matters.
Housty said that at the recently held Annual Officers' conference of the GPF, he made a presentation on mediation, introducing the aforementioned proposition and had received a very positive response.
"The police, being the first point of contact between disputing parties, can play an integral role in determining the source of the problem and perhaps recommend mediation. This is one way of reducing the amount of cases currently before the courts," Housty explained.
He asserted that law enforcement officials in Finland, Denmark and Germany have used this successfully.
At present, Housty noted, mediation is still free and there is a commitment on the part of the mediators to continue to provide this service. But he suggested that a structure ought to be set up in the future to ensure that mediators are remunerated for their services.
Mediation is a confidential, solution-oriented process that allows all the parties involved in the dispute to contribute directly to the final agreement. It allows all parties to address underlying issues that may otherwise be lost in the dispute mode in an informal setting.
The specific case for mediation is first perused by the court and based on this examination of the relevant details; the corresponding file is referred to the Mediation Coordinator, Colin Chichester, who is an officer of the court.
At this stage, the lawyers representing the respective parties must agree on a mediator from the existing list of mediators and thereafter, the coordinator proceeds to schedule a meeting between the mediator, lawyers and individual(s)/groups(s) in dispute. A notice is then delivered directly to each party indicating when and where the process will take place. The usual time limit set for mediation, Housty had previously explained, is three hours though the process may take longer.
At the beginning of the mediation process all parties including the mediator must sign an agreement and based on the final consensus of the parties in dispute, a corresponding order of court is made at the end of the process. The role of the lawyer as a mediator in the process is to attempt to generate creative options and assist in facilitating and guiding the parties involved toward a reasonable compromise.
Additionally, there is provision for each party to have separate discourse with the mediator in the absence of the other party. In such instances, the mediator cannot be called upon to testify about the details of the discourse without the permission of the specific party.
However, if mediation does not work out, the option of returning to court is always open.
The MCG is located at the Victoria Law Courts in Georgetown, Guyana and its coordinator can be contacted at the Supreme Court registry or on telephone numbers: 227-2565 or 624-3084. (Edlyn Benfield)