Described as one of the most modern bills in the region of its kind, the Arbitration Bill 2023 that will soon be debated in the National Assembly is not only based on a Caribbean Community (Caricom) model, but was reviewed by international law firms.
In his latest ‘Issues in the news programme’, Attorney General Anil Nandlall spoke about the range of bills the government currently has before it. These bills include the Arbitration Bill 2023, which Nandlall said would come up for debate at the next sitting of the National Assembly.
Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC
“The arbitration bill, which will be debated Friday in the National Assembly, is perhaps the most modern expression of Arbitration Law in the commonwealth. Certainly, in the Caribbean. Arbitration has long been recognised as the most preferred mode of settling commercial disputes. Gone are the days where huge companies want to go to court to resolve their disputes,” he explained.
According to Nandlall, the bill will have a dramatic effect on arbitration in Guyana, as well as making the country an attractive one for investors. He also referenced Guyana’s comparative advantages as an English-speaking country.
“The bill is a modern bill. It came out of a CARICOM model. And then I sent it to the US, for the input of two of the largest law firms in the world. Arnold and Porter, out of Washington D.C. and Gibson and Dunn, out of New York and London. These are two law firms that specialise in arbitration. They reviewed it and they made certain additions, which we have incorporated.”
In addition to this, Nandlall noted that the bill also provides for arbitration centers to be established locally. He also set out the potential for Guyana to earn money and create employment, noting that arbitration cases originating in Guyana often migrate to metropolitan cities across the globe.
“It allows for the establishment of arbitration centers in Guyana. So, a company that offers arbitration services in North America or in Europe, can come to Guyana because we have the most modern law and they can establish their arbitration centers here,” Nandlall explained.
“And the very persons who would have been hearing the arbitration in one of the cities in the first world, can now travel to Guyana and hear the arbitration right here. So, we are creating employment, we are keeping millions of US dollars within the shores of Guyana and we are offering this multi-million US facility in Guyana.”
Last year, Nandlall had outlined that once Guyana is self-sufficient with regards to arbitration, then the government will move onto the second stage to refine the process and the infrastructure to such an extent that the country truly becomes an attractive destination for arbitration in the Caribbean, Latin America, and South America.
“This bill will lay the foundation for that… The truth of the matter is that more and more companies across the globe are choosing arbitration as the preferred method of resolving their commercial disputes. So, whether they want to go through the courts, we are building an efficient judicial system. If they want to go to arbitration, we are building an efficient modern arbitration system as well,” he had said.
“The first step in that direction is to get the law right and I believe, respectfully, that we have the law here. We now have to begin the educational process so that we have an educated and qualified population to serve the sector and where best to start than the university itself that will be graduating the lawyers and those who wish to be academically trained in the area of arbitration,” the Legal Affairs Minister had stressed.
In keeping with its commitment to create a modern platform for arbitration as an effective method of settling commercial and other disputes in the country, the Government of Guyana has already established an Arbitration Unit.
This Arbitration Unit will liaise with the Judiciary and key stakeholders at periodic intervals as this initiative is part of the Government of Guyana’s declared intention to create a modern infrastructure for the arbitration and conciliation of commercial disputes in Guyana.
The unit was established by AG Nandlall and comprised representatives from various stakeholder organisations. These include Jamela A. Ali, SC, from the Bar Association of Guyana; Attorney Suriyah Sabsook from the Berbice Bar Association; Norman McLean from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and from the AG’s Chambers Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel Joann Bond and Deputy Solicitor General Deborah Kumar with AG Nandlall as the Chairman. (G3)
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