Use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Caribbean Judiciaries

The overhaul of the civil justice system precipitated by the Lord Woolf Reports “Access to Justice” (1995–1996) in the UK paved the way for the introduction and usage of Alternative Dispute Resolution processes and mechanisms in Caribbean justice systems. In exploration of the tenets of “access to justice”, the creation of paths to resolve conflicts that are within the purview of the Caribbean’s legal structure, this chapter parses the incorporation of Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms, specifically mediation, into Caribbean jurisprudence as a public good. The chapter is intended to close the gap in the literature on Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms embedded within Caribbean judiciaries, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Barbados. In authoring this chapter, the authors considered the opinions of pioneers in the Alternative Dispute Resolution field in the Caribbean.