Dispute Resolution Foundation has commenced a short-term pilot programme

Jamaica’s Ministry of Justice is partnering with the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) to bring increased access to mediation in the parish courts across the island.

Already the DRF has commenced a short-term pilot programme that will see the ministry paying the mediation costs for individuals whose matters are referred by the parish courts but who do not have the means to pay a mediator.

The announcement was made yesterday during a press conference at the ministry’s Constant Spring Road head office in St Andrew.

Speaking at the press conference, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said the programme will run for four months and will help to alleviate the backlog of cases in the parish courts.

“We expect that, with more use of mediation in the courts, the backlog reduction will continue even faster. Many of the cases in the courts are simple matters but the parties feel that they need the court and litigation to settle… when really there is no need for many of them to go to court,” Chuck explained.

Moving for mandatory mediation in parish courts

The minister added that the intention is to eventually have mediation being mandatory in the parish courts, as exists in the Supreme Court.

“We are starting at the parish courts and what we plan to do… is to get as many of these cases referred before we finally make it mandatory like in the Supreme Court. [For] matters coming to the parish courts, all of them will be referred to mediation before they are set for trial,” Chuck told the audience.

For his part, DRF Chairman John Bassie, who also spoke at the press conference, said the partnership will help to change the culture of dispute resolution in Jamaica.

“We are proud to collaborate with the minister [of justice] and the chief justice in this initiative. The board of the DRF is committed to increasing the presence of mediation throughout the country and instilling a culture change in how we resolve disputes,” Bassie said. 

The objectives of the programme are to reduce case backlog in the courts; improve the pace of litigation; promote early and fair resolution of disputes; reduce the cost of litigation to the Courts and the parties; and improve access to justice for the public.

MEDIATORS TO BE ASSIGNED FROM REGISTERED POOL

Some matters eligible for referral to mediation include: personal injury litigation; complex contract cases; product and professional liability actions; commercial litigation; and cases involving highly confidential or proprietary information.

Eligibility for the programme will be determined via a pro bono means test, which will ascertain whether parties qualify for inclusion in the initiative.

Under the partnership, matters referred to the parish courts for mediation will be administered by the DRF, which will assign mediators from a registered pool of duly gazetted mediators or individuals who are approved by the Court to mediate matters. The Ministry of Justice will compensate mediators through the DRF for services provided.