Chuck continues push for mediation before litigation

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is urging Jamaicans to “mediate before they litigate”, as the Government seeks to reduce the number of disputes going before the courts and ease pressure on the justice system.

Chuck said on Monday that mediation has already been producing strong results in the parish courts, with more than $50 million paid to mediators last year and about 80 per cent of matters referred to mediation being settled.

“I really want to urge Jamaicans to mediate before they litigate,” Chuck said.

He said he wants mediation to remove as close to 50 per cent of the matters coming to the courts, arguing that many disputes could be settled without the time and expense associated with litigation.

Chuck was speaking at the opening ceremony of the Judiciary of Jamaica’s eighth Strategic Management Retreat at the AC Hotel by Marriott in St Andrew.

He said mediation can provide a “win-win” outcome for disputing parties, unlike litigation, where a judge ultimately determines the outcome.

“When they go to court, the judge makes a decision. One is a loser and one is a winner,” Chuck said.

The minister said he plans to examine Singapore’s approach to mediation when he travels there on Thursday, with the aim of identifying practices that could strengthen Jamaica’s system.

Chief Justice Bryan Sykes also endorsed the push, saying Jamaica must move away from the belief that every dispute filed in court must ultimately be decided by a judge.

“There’s no legal system that can try every single case that is filed,” Sykes said.

He said the Judiciary therefore needs to create a culture in which more cases are resolved without a trial.

“This is why we need to embrace mediation,” he said.

Sykes said the Jamaican Judiciary will also engage with Uganda’s court system, where mediation has been introduced across the courts, including the Supreme Court.

STRENGTHENING FRAMEWORK FOR MEDIATION

According to the minister, the Government is also moving to strengthen the legal framework for mediation.

He said the Mediation Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives, is expected to go before the Senate in September.

Further to that, Chuck is also calling for greater use of plea bargaining to reduce the number of criminal cases going to trial and ease pressure on the courts.

“I think far too many cases are being tried,” Chuck said, pointing to the United States, where he said about 90 per cent of cases in the courts are completed through plea bargaining, with the figure reaching as high as 98 per cent in some states.

He said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, prosecutors and court clerks should work with defence attorneys to identify cases that could be resolved through guilty pleas, including agreements on sentences or lesser charges.

“These are matters I think which are very important. We must find ways and means to complete these criminal cases within a reasonable time,” Chuck said.

He warned that prolonged delays in criminal cases could result in breaches of the constitutional rights of accused persons.

“Once they go outside the reasonable time, in all sincerity, they should be thrown out because they are unconstitutional. They breach the Constitution,” he said.

Chuck said greater use of mediation and plea bargaining could help reduce the backlog and allow judges to devote more time to cases that genuinely require a trial.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com