The judicial settlement conference system was launched today under the senior courts of Belize with the swearing in of several senior lawyers as settlement officers.
The system was designed with a view to assist persons in resolving civil disputes. Persons involved in these cases will now be able to meet privately and safely to achieve a binding resolution with the help of a settlement officer.
Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck is one of those new officers and he spoke a bit more about his role.
Andrew Marshalleck, Senior Counsel
"It is the first time the whole process is being introduced here, so we were invited to some initial training. Some training is ongoing but it is about dispute resolution trying to help people resolve differences and it offers another approach to doing so. As an avenue of litigation."
"Yes if it doesn't work, it ends up at court but it offers some different opportunities that the existing processes do not so it is a little different to mediation and arbitration and hopefully it encourages parties to look to other approaches to resolving differences before going to trial and litigating."
Reporter
"And you will begin immediately?"
Andrew Marshalleck, Senior Counsel
"I believe the rules are still being settled, I think they are finally settled and yes we start today."
