The Implementation of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Arbitration in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Abstract

The implementation of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law in the Commonwealth Caribbean is a significant step towards the greater harmonisation of laws which impact regional integration and intra-regional trade. It also serves to reassure foreign direct investors of a standardised alternative to litigation before domestic courts which are often plagued by delay and higher costs in comparison with arbitration. Such a Model Law also helps to promote uniformity and predictability in the resolution of disputes as well as preserving party autonomy and confidentiality. Courts within the region have also become increasingly sensitive to giving effect to the parties’ decision to resolve commercial disputes by arbitration instead of litigation. However, the role of State courts may still be important to support certain aspects of the arbitration process which may best be carried out by the domestic courts within the seat of arbitration. Several jurisdictions within the Commonwealth Caribbean have now implemented the Model Law such as Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and most recently Trinidad and Tobago. These developments coupled with the establishment of international arbitration centres in certain jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Barbados, which also have their own Rules governing the conduct of institutional arbitrations, augurs well for the region which is characterised by the presence of several multinational companies, many of which may have disputes with the host Caribbean State. These developments may eventually lead to an increase in the resolution of disputes within the Commonwealth Caribbean by international commercial arbitration as a viable alternative to other more established international arbitration centres in New York, London and increasingly the Middle East and Far East.