The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The private sector is hoping that plans to launch a domestic arbitration centre this year will position the Bahamas as “one of the innovators” in the Caribbean, and prevent companies throwing money “into a black hole” legally.

Edison Sumner, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chief executive, told Tribune Business that establishing a local Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) centre would “have a significant impact” on both individual businesses and the wider Bahamian economy.

While confirming that discussions between the Chamber and Ministry of Financial Services on the issue were still in their early stages, Mr Sumner said members of the Arbitration Committee had already been identified by the BCCEC.

He added that they would likely be formally announced at the end of March during the National Chambers Conference, a first-of-its-kind event designed to bring together Chambers of Commerce from all the different Bahamian islands.

“It’s still in the infancy stages, but we have drafted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry and the Chamber to set up a first domestic arbitration centre in the country,” Mr Sumner confirmed to Tribune Business.

“There are various elements that have to come together to do it effectively the first time. We are looking to have the first launch of it, ready to go, in the course of 2014.”

He added that the project was being supported by both the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) and the International Court of Arbitration, with the latter working through the former.

The National Chambers Conference is intended to bring all Bahamian private sector organisations together for two days of meetings, and Mr Sumner said members of the Arbitration Committee - and the Board that will run the centre - have already been identified from within the BCCEC.

The Bahamas has long been viewed as a natural arbitration centre, given its well-established professional cadre of 1,000-plus attorneys and accountants; strong common law legal system; US proximity and North/South America bridging location; and legislation recognising international arbitraral awards.

Much of the focus, though, has been on the international side of arbitration, rather than its use in domestic Bahamian business disputes.

That, though, may be about to change, with Mr Sumner suggesting that domestic arbitration could be established more rapidly in the Bahamas than an international centre.

The BCCEC chief executive said the advantages of a domestic arbitration centre would be reduced time and costs associated with commercial dispute resolution, as it offered the possibility of settlement without going through the court system.

This, in turn, would free up space on the court calendar, while work would be created for the likes of engineers, accountants and architects as professional experts and witnesses.

With decisions by arbitrators binding, and before them those made by mediators, Mr Sumner said the discussions between the Government and private sector were “going to be quite a significant move”.

“Having trade and contract disputes arbitrated by professionals in their industries, it’s going to reduce the time and cost of settlement,m and free up the court docket from trite matters that tie up the court’s time,” Mr Sumner told Tribune Business.

“Time is money. The longer we find ourselves tied up in these disputes costs us, as we are spending time away from the workplace and taking money away from the bottom line to pay expensive legal and court fees.”

This, he added, would enable Bahamas-based companies - foreign or locally owned - to stop “throwing money into a black hole where there’s no recovery”.

Mr Sumner suggested that establishing a domestic arbitration centre could boost the Bahamas’ competitiveness and attraction for foreign investors, especially as no English-speaking Caribbean country had such a facility.

“Based on what we’ve seen, we’ll perhaps be the only English-speaking country in the Caribbean to have it at this level,” he told Tribune Business

“It will certainly put the Bahamas up there as one of the innovators and drivers of this new industry. We’re going to be one of the first countries in this region to get to this level of ADR.

“We think it’s going to have a significant impact on the economy, business and bring a level of service that does not exist currently.”