CONTACT Magazine (Vol.18 No.1 – April 2018)

the chamber and its members
The location
The importance of the mediation venue is often overlooked,
but, simply stated, good mediation venues send a subliminal
message supporting the parties’ quest for compromise. The
location should provide each party with its own meeting room,
with another room large enough for joint meetings with the
mediator and both parties present.
The venue will be a place which both parties consider
as neutral. The Trinidad and Tobago Dispute Resolution
Centre (DRC) was an ideal mediation host venue, as it is
“dedicated to promoting an environment in which people
are encouraged to work together to find alternative means
of resolving conflict”.
Under the guidance of executive director Elizabeth
Solomon the DRC staff worked hard to ensure that the
physical surroundings supported mediation objectives; they
were available, offering support such as printing services,
before eight in the morning and after six in the evening.
Another example of support was the choice of excellent
food to energise the participants, strategically located to
encourage parties to mingle and talk outside the formal
meetings.
The mediator
The mediator as a neutral third party assists the parties
to compromise their dispute, using communication and
negotiation skills. The mediator is the guardian of the process,
facilitating the exchange of information, helping the parties
to reality-check their positions, and leaving no value on the
table.
As a mediator, I always commit to following the European
Code of Conduct for Mediators, which sets out a number of
principles which individual mediators can voluntarily decide
to adopt.
Acknowledgements
The aforementioned Port of Spain mediation was a success,
mainly because there was balance and harmony between
people and process. As mediation is confidential, all I can do
here is to thank the parties’ lawyers, with their permission: Mrs
Savitri Sookraj-Beharry from the law firm Pollonais, Blanc, de
la Bastide & Jacelon; Mr Ravi Nanga, Advocate Attorney at
Law; Ms Kimberleigh Peterson from the law firm J.D. Sellier &
Co.; Mr Ravi Heffes-Doon, Advocate Attorney at Law; the ICC
ADR Centre staff – Alina Leoveanu, Andrija Erac, Ana Sylvia
Prado and Malgorzata Matowska; and the Trinidad and Tobago
Dispute Resolution Centre’s Executive Director Elizabeth
Solomon and her welcoming, hard-working staff.
Niall Lawless is a Chartered Arbitrator and Engineer,
Adjudicator and Mediator at Adjudication Solutions.
The Dispute Resolution Centre has two meeting areas to suit
the size of your delegation
Dispute Resolution Centre, Ground Floor, Chamber Building,
Columbus Circle, Westmoorings, PO Box 499, Port of Spain.
Tel: 632-4051, fax: 632-4046.
www.disputeresolutioncentre.com
46
Trinidad
and Tobago Chamber
of Industry and Commerce
www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine