The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas must show it can effectively perform Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at the domestic level if it wants to be recognised as an international arbitration centre, an attorney said yesterday.

Caryl Lashley, founder of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Bahamas, said there needed to first be increased public awareness of ADR's benefits. She acknowledged that there has been a "substantial" level of interest, and increased understanding, of alternative dispute resolution.

"In terms of public awareness it continues to grow, because literally on a monthly basis someone says: 'I have never heard about mediatio', or 'I didn't know I could get my matter mediated or it could apply to me'," Mrs Lashley said.

"In terms of public awareness we have seen a substantial amount of interest and increased understanding. What I think has to happen is there has to be more of that, and more clarity in terms of how it can really affect people."

Mrs Lashley continued: "Until that happens you won't see a huge surge of people going to mediation and arbitration. The people who have gone that route have been surprised that it worked. The scepticism for new things is still there, but when people try it and recognise that their matter has been in the courts for the past four or five years, and they could get it resolved from a different process, it's an eye opener."

ADR Bahamas is set to host seminars, in Freeport on September 21 and Nassau on September 22, on the topic of: 'International Arbitration Agreements: Let's be Practical'.

As to awareness about ADR, Mrs Lashley said: "I think those things take time quite frankly. I didn't have any expectation that it would be an overnight phenomenon.

"We need to demonstrate that we have the ability on a domestic level first. If we can't do this domestically we definitely aren't going to be able to do it internationally."

She added that alternative dispute mechanisms provide a speedier process outside of the court system, can help reduce the backlog of cases, and are less costly.