We have been conditioned to think of a law suit filed in a Court as the way to resolve our disputes, in spite of backlog, expense, and general unhappiness with the process.
In Grenada, mediation is a successful complement to and substitute for the Court.
Mediation allows persons in dispute to determine their own solution. They do so with the assistance of an impartial third person, a “mediator.”
It can be agreed upon prior to the dispute arising, as in a contract, or after the dispute has arisen, before court action is filed, or after; and even after a judgment is obtained.
The persons must agree to the process and the mediator. The Mediation Center attached to the Supreme Court of Grenada is available for the conduct of all mediations.
Hallmarks of mediation:
1. Far cheaper than a lawsuit;
2. Confidentiality, protected by the Court;
3. A mediation agreement is like a contract, usually enforceable by a Court;
4. Because the terms were voluntary, compliance is more likely; and
5. Parties get the opportunity to tell each other what the problem really is, which often does not happen in Court, so that a court judgment does not fully resolve the dispute.