IMPACT Justice Arbitration Legislation Committee meeting to discuss drafting instructions

The Canadian Government-funded project Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) is hosting its second Arbitration Legislation Committee meeting to discuss drafting instructions for a Model Arbitration Bill. IMPACT Justice, which is a regional justice sector reform project, is being implemented from within the Caribbean Law Institute Centre, UWI, Cave Hill Campus.{{more}}

The Arbitration Acts in CARICOM Member States are based on English arbitration legislation of 1889 and 1934, later consolidated into the Arbitration Act, 1950. The English have since modernized their Arbitration Act in 1996. Additionally, some 68 countries have modernized their arbitration legislation and adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, while the legislation in CARICOM Member States remains, for the most part, outdated.

The drafting of model arbitration legislation is part of the project’s mandate to draft gender and environmentally sensitive model CSME and other laws for presentation to the CARICOM Legal Affairs Committee for approval. This is in keeping with the project’s commitment to provide assistance to CARICOM Member States in formulating laws leading to cooperation and economic integration as a means of promoting greater integration and sustainable economic growth in the region.

The meeting will take place on December 12 at the Hilton Hotel in Port of Spain and committee members will finalize the drafting instructions for presentation to the legislative drafter. It is expected that the Model Arbitration Bill will be drafted by mid-2016.