Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 17, 2021 (SKNIS): The number of cases that go to trial in St. Kitts and Nevis will continue to be reduced following the start of the second round of the 40-hour Mediation Training 2021, which will see 26 persons from the Federation trained to mediate in conflict resolution.
The training runs from May 17 – 21 of this week and May 25 and 26 of the following week.
During the opening ceremony held at the National ICT Center on Monday, May 17, 2021, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Honourable Vincent Byron Jr. assured all of the government’s support of the programme.
“The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is committed to this process of training of mediators as it emboldens and strengthens the whole system of justice in our country,” said Minister Byron Jr. “The administration of justice is critical to a properly functioning democracy and we in St. Kitts and Nevis are proud to adhere to the rule of law that upholds as it were, the tenets of a properly functioning society. In our commitment to this administration of justice, we have given support to the whole process of alternative dispute resolution as it is in mediation.”
Attorney-General Byron noted that the whole idea of mediation is “seen as and should be quicker, timely and it should also save litigants cost.”
Janine Harris-Lake, High Court Registrar, welcomed all in attendance and described the training as important to the judiciary.
“Mediation is a very important part of our judicial system and most would be aware that mediation provides litigants with a wider range of solutions than those that are available in litigation,” said Mrs. Harris-Lake. “My hope is that at the end of the training every trained participant would have been inspired and will make it on the roster of trained mediators.”
Mrs. Harris-Lake used the occasion to express heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the 25 persons who were trained in 2019.
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution, a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties with concrete effects. Typically, a third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate a settlement.
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