COMMISSIONING of the $23M Mediation Centre in New Amsterdam is the fulfillment of a promise made by Chancellor (ag) of the Judiciary, Justice Carl Singh, during a training session held for mediators at the Little Rock Suites in Vryman’s Erven in New Amsterdam approximately three years ago.

The Chancellor, in his address, expressed profound gratitude to the Government of Guyana for supporting the initiative, which would allow Berbicians to continue their existing culture and disposition to settle matters which are presented

before the courts.

The Chancellor recalled that, as a sitting judge in Berbice, he had such an experience when the litigants, through their counsels Marcel Crawford and Johnny Persaud, asked for settlement in a matter.

“On many occasions, those efforts bore fruit; and I believe that the culture is still with you,” the Chancellor asserted. “It is my hope that this building does not become a white elephant,” he continued, even as he recalled the birth of the Mediation Centre in Georgetown.

“However,” he said, “there are two groups of people who have been charged with the responsibility of the Mediation Centre, and they are the lawyers and the litigants.

“There is a fear amongst lawyers that the mediation Centre will impact their pockets. But in order to erase those fears, it must become a matter of the initial discourse with the retainer. Once a client is told beforehand the fee, there can be no problems,” the Chancellor assured the large gathering, which included Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Mr. Anil Nandlall; Regional Chairman Mr. David Armagon, judges, magistrates, lawyers, students, and legal staff members.

Turning his attention to the role of litigants, Justice Carl Singh said, “In mediation, the third party cannot take a decision. The mediator is merely to guide you. He or she cannot take sides. I believe that eighty percent of the cases which come to the courts can be resolved through mediation. As litigants, you are not forced or coerced. A mediation settlement is capable of being enforced similarly as an order at the end of a trial.

“The terms of settlement go to the judge or a magistrate to be ratified, and would be just as binding as an order in a court of law.”

Justice Singh recounted simple cases — such as the intrusion of a fence by mere inches — that took disputing parties to the court. Such disputes, he said, bring to bear a strain on the judicial resources, which can be spent on more serious matters.

“As Guyanese, we are a litigantous people; we go to court at the drop of a hat. People want to hear their lawyers bark. However, I urge the lawyers to sell the message of mediation, so as to ease the already burdened Judiciary and Magistracy,”

Chancellor of the Judiciary [ag] Mr. Carl Singh after he unveiled the plaque of the newly commissioned Berbice Mediation Centre

he declared.