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Chief Justice urges alternative resolution to help ease case load
Kaieteur News – Acting Chief Justice (CJ), Roxane George Wiltshire, is urging citizens to explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) more to help ease the increasingly heavy case load.
Acting Chief Justice (CJ), Roxane George Wiltshire
Speaking at the opening of Law Year 2024 on Tuesday, Justice George said that lawyers should advise their clients to explore Alternative Dispute Resolution. ADR refers to the different ways people can resolve disputes without a trial. Common ADR processes include mediation, arbitration, and neutral evaluation.
According to the CJ, ADR is the only way to bring down the high number of cases currently before the Courts. “We remain an extremely litigious society especially in the civil jurisdiction. So, I urge our Bar, especially the Demerara Bar, to persuade their clients to focus on Alternative Dispute Resolution, to be more opened to mediation, and settlement of cases, thereby allowing for the timelier disposition of matters,” Chief Justice said.
“Settlement of cases is the only way to manage the high volume of matters. So, I urge, let 2024 result in greater settlement of cases, more so, through the court mediation services,” she urged.
President of the Guyana Bar Association, Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith, noted, “One of the greatest impediments to our efficient judicial system is the number of cases that are filed by attorneys.
“There is no way under ideal circumstances and with all of the resources that could be reasonably being made available that we can reasonably expect that the judges can dispatch with all of those cases effectively. The number has to be reduced. The only way in which that can be done is if there are consequences for attorneys persisting in cases that don’t belong in court,” Burch-Smith added.
- Acting Chief Justice (CJ), Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Demerara Bar, processes, Roxane George – Wiltshire
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