Mobilise trained mediators to communities ahead of natural disaster - Bassie

 

Chairman of the Dispute Resolution Foundation (DRF) and attorney John Bassie is advocating for the mobilisation of trained teams in areas likely to be impacted by a natural disaster, to allow for speedy intervention in legal matters when they arise.

 

Mr. Bassie says disasters can trigger legal conflicts from insurance claims to land disputes that can overwhelm the island's courts.

 

He says there are some issues that require litigation, but there are a lot of matters that simply need facilitators to hear the disputes.

 

"You have a land issue prior to disaster, let's say, for argument's sake. We have in our place right now - and I must commend the Ministry of Justice - what we call the 12-month programme, which in fact the Dispute Resolution Foundation actually administers on it. What it basically means is that you can go to the court, the parish court, and you can get a mediation, even if you can't afford a mediation. Of course, there are other ways of doing it. There are private mediations where you can ask for mediators if you're already au fait with the process. Look for mediators at the Dispute Resolution Foundation. So it's easily accessible.

 

"What I'm advocating here is being proactive. So prior to disaster, have trained teams in place, whether it be legal professionals, whether they be mediators, who can actually have the authority that when a disaster hits, you have these teams in place that go to community centres, that go to facilities in order to assist people, or mobile units, to assist people in the aftermath to keep the issues down to a minimum," he suggested.

 

Mr. Bassie said since the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October, the services of the Dispute Resolution Foundation have been utilised in landlord and tenant disagreements.

 

He was a guest Monday on TVJ's Smile Jamaica.