The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas must become the “Atlantic tiger” in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) rather than staying a “Caribbean pussy cat”, a former Bar Association chief urged yesterday.

Dr Peter Maynard, managing partner of Peter D Maynard & Co, said of next Friday’s eighth annual Arbitration & Investment Summit: “Hopefully all of the interests that are quite prominent in the field will come together under this centre, because the Bahamas can become an Atlantic Tiger rather than a Caribbean pussy cat.”

Recalling how the conference started, Dr Maynard added: “We were advocating for more widespread use of ADR (alternative dispute resolution), in particular arbitration. The basic premise is we need to be speaking to one another more rather than resorting to angry words or to violence. That’s the basic concept of ADR.”

Arguing that ADR and arbitration can be used not just to “broaden and improve the society”, but also “makes business easier”, Dr Maynard added: “The Bahamas being lowered in the ease of doing business rankings to 119, one of the criteria they use is the accessibility to arbitration and ADR.

“I’m pleased that this is gaining more and more traction as it is being developed. It has been on the books in various agencies but they don’t seem to use it. But they are starting to use it more and more, thanks in partly through the efforts of the summit.

“In the maritime sector, for example, the cruise ships are now largely through the efforts of the summit settling their disputes in The Bahamas. We have lots of cruise ships registered here but they used to take their disputes to other places. Some of them have in their collective bargaining agreements with their crew a default clause that you can have your dispute settlement take place in The Bahamas.”

Asked what makes the Bahamas “attractive” as an arbitration centre, Dr Maynard said: “We have professionals who can handle this, and I’m not just talking about lawyers, but we have other professionals like accountants and architects and quantity surveyors and the maritime specialists as well.

Identifying Freeport as an “ideal place” to have an arbitration centre, Dr Maynard, who is also a law professor at the University of The Bahamas (UB), said: “The UB is fully behind the idea of an arbitration institute.

“We’re looking at setting up an ADR institute at UB, and a centre as well. I hope we will be a lot closer by virtue of the summit, because presently we are working on having all parties buy-in to a centre. So I’m hoping it can take place within the year, if not sooner. I’m hoping it can actually take place by summer.”

Indicating that the initiative is times to coincide with the new Supreme Court rules to be announced by chief justice, Sir Brian Moree QC, the ex-Bar Association president added: “I’m hoping that the centre will be in place by then. I’m thinking it can be done before the chief justice announces the new rules in April.

“We just need the buy-in by everyone to the single centre. We have the documentation prepared for it. We are also thinking of setting it up as a company limited by guarantee, a non-profit entity that all parties can sign on to. That’s very important because people need to have confidence in the centre.”

Calling on The Bahamas to get the “legislation hurdle behind us”, Dr Maynard said: “We have the 2009 Arbitration Act, and then there is another one that has been tabled. The first Act was not internationally compliant and recognisable by countries around the world.”

He added: “In the interim, CARICOM has assembled a group of experts. We looked at this question as a recommendation from the entire CARICOM, and there is a draft which suggests just one regime has already been declared internationally compliant.”

Calling for uniformity in the legislation that would combine international arbitration with domestic needs, Dr Maynard said, “I’m disappointed that the CARICOM document has really not been looked at by The Bahamas as yet, even though other regional governments have gotten together and it appears that the other countries will be adopting the CARICOM model.”