–PSC Chairman says with passage of modern, milestone Arbitration Bill

WITH the passage of the new and modern Arbitration Bill of 2023, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Komal Singh has said that this will make Guyana an attractive destination as the country is on track to becoming an arbitration centre for the region and beyond.

In an invited comment to the Guyana Chronicle, Singh said that with the massive transformation that is ongoing, which has attracted the attention of foreign investors and contractors, many of these companies are executing contracts for government, private businesses or have formed joint ventures with local talent, and almost every one of these contracts possess an arbitration clause.

He then went on to say: “… None of those contracts use Guyana to be the country to settle any dispute due to our outdated arbitration law, as such they utilise other countries like the USA, England, France etc,” while noting that the country’s current arbitration laws were enacted in 1916 and amended twice (1927/1931).

The PSC Chairman further related that many foreign investors have expressed concern over the ancient law, so the update/upgrade was important.

Singh related: “Many foreign investors have concern with this old and outdated law. As such, it is important that we update this law to make Guyana an attractive destination where we can be seen as an arbitration centre for the region and beyond.

“With such an updated act, it will now give investors, both local and international, more comfort that our arbitration law is now comparable to what is used internationally. This new arbitration law is based on the CARICOM model. The private sector welcomes this new proposed amendment to this arbitration law.”

The Arbitration Bill No. 18 of 2023 was read for the second and third time during the 82nd sitting of the twelfth parliament. Its passage paves the way for the facilitation of domestic and international arbitration by encouraging the use of this method to resolve disputes.

While presenting the bill for its second reading, Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C., said that the government, since 2020, started the overhaul of the country’s entire legislative and institutional tapestry to facilitate and foster Guyana’s rapid economic expansion.

Against this backdrop, he said that in expanding the commercial environment, contracts, both at the state and private sector levels, involve billions of dollars with both local and international companies.

These contracts, Nandlall added, cater for the resolution of disputes that might arise between parties. In this case, litigation would be relegated to a last resort and arbitration, which is now the preferred method of settling these disputes, would be used.

He told the House that there was an Arbitration Act in Guyana which was enacted in 1916 which was the 1889 Arbitration Act of the United Kingdom that was only amended twice since its enactment, in 1927 and 1931.

“Our statutory arbitral framework is one of the oldest in the world. Naturally, it is completely anachronistic, ancient and unsuitable to meet the demands of today’s commercial environment,” he said.

While noting that the country is lagging behind the rest of the Caribbean in that regard, he added that it is imperative that the laws of the country are updated to make Guyana an attractive destination to be chosen as the seat for arbitrations in Guyana but also the wider Caribbean and even South America.