UWP’s Lennox Linton identifies with the Mediation Public Awareness Campaign. The campaign was first launched in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with a steering committee based in St. Lucia, but the programme is coming to Dominica now. Established by the Supreme Court of the OECS, the Mediation Public Awareness Campaign is financed by the Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening Project.
The campaign exists to mediate or settle problems between people without necessarily resorting to the law courts. Considering that many people are afraid of law courts and the legal system, they will prefer to settle matters out of court if a skilled mediator or middleman could bring a resolution.
Honourable Justice Gertel Thom, a Justice of Appeal at the OECS Supreme Court, noted that civil disputes can be resolved with skilled mediation and that it is actually a part of the legal system, but highly underutilized by legal professionals. She revealed that “our communities have long been accustomed to disputes being settled in the courts by judicial officers,” but it is high time out-of-court mediation is embraced by all and sundry to reduce the burden of backlog cases on the courts.
Honourable Davidson Baptiste of the OECS Supreme Court, representing Her Ladyship, Dame Janice Perreira, Honourable Chief Justice of the OECS Supreme Court, said almost all conflicts can be resolved with mediation.
“Several cases are amenable to mediation,” Baptiste said. “These include land disputes. Personal injury cases, breach of contract, matters involving wills, employment, family disputes and landlord/tenant disputes.”
The public mediation awareness campaign will take place in town halls, via radio and TV panel discussions, and through school outreach events. Those targeted to benefit from the programme include religious groups, legal communities, college students and the general public among others.
Opposition Leader Lennox Linton said mediation is important for all organized societies and must be embraced to advance global civilization.
“And so it’s very important for our country at this time that we correct the limited use of mediation in the court system so far, so we’re pleased to be associated with this initiative of the court,” Linton said.
During its launch in Dominica, 14 local professionals who completed the certification course in public mediation and conflict resolution were appointed as legal mediators.
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