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Century-old arbitration laws put Guyana at a disadvantage – Datadin
By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
Guyana’s arbitration laws are over 100 years old, as passed in September of 1916. They are totally outdated and stand as a serious disadvantage to the country. However, all the contracts that Guyana has with oil companies, including ExxonMobil, cater for arbitration.
This was pointed out by Attorney-at-law, Sanjeev Datadin.
Attorney-at-Law, Sanjeev Datadin
Datadin posits that Guyana needs to arm itself with an improved Arbitration Act. He pointed out that there is a draft law that is recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). “We can take that as our starting point… we will need a few changes; to tweak it a bit. But those laws are drafted so that there is worldwide consistency.
He said that Guyana can also turn to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) for help in this regard.
The lawyer said that it is imperative that Guyana moves to update its laws soon, because, “if we were to go into arbitration now with our current legislation there are disadvantages. For example, we are not signatories to the Lugano and New York Conventions, which are two conventions for the enforcement of arbitration awards in a country. We will then be forced to go to arbitration, win the judgment, and if it has to be enforced in Guyana, we then have to go to court to make it an order of court and go through the process again.”
Datadin said that this will mean Guyana will have to spend unnecessary money and waste time.
But, “If we had the UNCITRAL laws, we would be better off.”
Datadin said that while arbitration will not take place in Guyana, wherever it happens, it will be in accordance with the laws here.
He said that arbitrations are usually out of the home country “so that there is no home field advantage, but the dispute will be in accordance with our laws, they can provide that the law can be English or American law if they want to, but a lot of it will have to be in accordance with Guyana law.
He continued, “So we need to have more of these laws updated, because we need good procedural rules and rules for the appointment of arbitrators. Guyana has to move quickly to protect itself.”
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