THE government will be partnering with Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean Project (IMPACT Justice) in a number of initiatives designed to build national capacity and to train persons in arbitration with emphasis on the new-model arbitration bill.

This was solidified when Professor Velma Newton, Project Director IMPACT Justice met with Attorney- General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall and team to discuss several areas of collaboration between IMPACT Justice and the Government of Guyana on Thursday.

According to a press release from the chambers of the Attorney-General, capacity building and training are essential prerequisites to achieve the government’s objective of making Guyana a modern arbitration hub.
For several years, IMPACT Justice has provided invaluable support to the Government of Guyana in the area of access to justice.

IMPACT Justice is a multi-country regional justice sector reform project funded by the Government of Canada and implemented from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.
This model bill was produced by IMPACT Justice for the Caribbean region. It is one of the most modern expressions of arbitration law in this part of the world and Guyana is among the first territories pursuing its implementation.

Recently, young Attorneys-at-Law in Guyana benefited from a virtual skills-training workshop on the “Drafting of Arbitration Clauses: Practical Considerations” sponsored by IMPACT Justice and the Chartered Institute of Arbitration, Caribbean Branch.

This workshop was held on April 5 and 7, 2022. The objective of this workshop was to highlight the relevance of including arbitration clauses in contracts and to provide participants with an introduction to the drafting of enforceable arbitration clauses.

In May, in collaboration with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, IMPACT Justice will host a virtual workshop on the Model Arbitration Bill entitled, “Roadmap to Implementation of a New Arbitration Law.”
According to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the objective of this workshop is to enable participants to understand the purpose of arbitration and to familiarise them with the intended legal framework.

Participants of the workshop will receive training from internationally renowned arbitrators, namely Barry Leon and Professor Anthony Daimsis, both of whom are Canadian arbitrators; Calvin Hamilton, a Guyanese arbitrator based in Europe and Myles Weekes, the President of Chartered Institute of Arbitration, Caribbean Branch.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers further noted that participants will include members of the legal profession, the Judiciary, State Counsel, the private sector and civil society.

“To facilitate a consultative approach to the preparation of the domestic law, the Model Arbitration Bill was circulated to relevant stakeholders in Guyana including the Bar Association of Guyana, the Berbice Bar Association, the Private Sector Commission and the American Chamber of Commerce of Guyana. Additionally, later in the year, the Chartered Institute of Arbitration, Caribbean Branch, will host two training courses on arbitration. One will be held in September and the other in December. These courses will pave the way for interested Guyanese to become certified arbitrators,” the Attorney-General Chambers noted.