Can bitter enemies of warring gangs sit and reasonably mediate with each other? At the end of the mediation session can they surrender their guns and be transformed into decent, law-abiding citizens, upholding law and order?Justice Vasheist Kokaram, chairman of the Mediation Board of T&T, firmly believes mediation can chart the path to reducing crime and eventually creates a peaceful society.
Kokaram, in an interview at his chambers at the Hall of Justice, Port-of-Spain, described mediation, also known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (ARD), as a critical element of the court system which would yield positive results, including nurturing more caring citizens.
The judiciary introduced a mediation pilot project in the courts in March 2010 for civil and commercial matters, including labour, contract, land and negligence claims.An initiative, engineered by Chief Justice Ivor Archie, called the Court Annexed Mediation Pilot Project (CAMPP) which ended in October, outlined the statutory framework in which the court referred matters for mediation.
The degree of success of the project was being assessed by Archie with the aim of expanding the initiative within following months, Kokaram said. He added: "We are accessing the results but nothing prevents judges from telling litigants they can seek services of a private mediator and that's where the Mediation Board comes in and we have 90 certified mediators.
"Mediation would relieve the pressure on the court system, A number of matters could be resolved without using the court's time and resources which the court could now focus on larger cases which would need the court's intervention."
But he cited that particular cases, namely public law and constitutional matters, would need the intervention of the court to be resolved. The most powerful aspect of mediation, Kokaram explained, was that it offered therapeutic value."There is a therapy in mediation where when you solve a problem, via mediation, you walk away with a satisfaction of, "I understand why it was solved this way and I understand the other party's problem," Kokaram said.
Flashback: Crime scene experts and police officers conduct investigations at a murder scene. The crime was said to be linked to gang war.
Mediation for hotspots
A marked reduction in gang-related crimes and the elimination of crime "hotspots" could be achieved through mediation, Kokaram asserted. It could be achieved, he noted, by convincing the even most hardened criminal to turn away from a life of crime. "Gangs fight each other, shoot one another... there is collateral damage and quite apart from the police trying to eradicate crime, we need to transform persons in gangs to let them know there is a different way of life.
It's a step towards trying to dissolve gangs themselves," Kokaram said. Making reference to the war between Israel and Palestine, the judge said mediation had been tried in different parts of the world and garnered success.He said: "Whatever strategy used with gangs it has to be sustained. We just can't pick up people and introduce them to a concept. "We need to keep educating and going out to reach these persons. Education can reach even the most hardened criminal because they are human unless they are far gone and they're evil," Kokaram said.
Victim offender mediation
Expected to be introduced by the judiciary in criminal matters, Kokaram defined that process as a special type of mediation which offered therapeutic assistance. Citing the case of rape, Kokaram said victim offender mediation, which was offered in the United States, allowed the victim and the offender to come face-to-face. He said: "What works here is the therapy. The woman walks away without feeling cheap and violated. "There is a release. There is a catharsis she undergoes and she is able to move on and live her life. For the offender it would be a realisation that you have broken someone," he explained. Saying he has witnessed the Immense value achieved by the victim offender mediation Kokaram said mediators carry out such facilitation must be "very skilled." He said: "We already have capable people. Once we realise that if the judiciary is going that way we can offer training programmes and also bring in foreign experts."
Mediation in domestic disputes
Mediation, Kokaram continued, must also be part of a facility available in the resolving of domestic disputes.He advised, however, that caution must be exercised because of the violent aspect of involving some disputes. He said: "Mediation is a way to bring two parties together but when you're dealing with a woman who is being battered how can you bring that woman and that man on the same level playing field to talk? "Some degree of counselling may be used before the mediation process is started but those might be hard cases that need court intervention. "I would be very cautions how I use mediation in domestic disputes, it could work in some cases but not all," Kokaram said.
He said the current spate domestic violence exhibited in the home had resulted from problems being allowed to fester and conflicts to develop. "Rather than going to the pundit or priest, the parties involved can go to a mediation centre and there are some in quite a few communities. If we could get mediation at the early stages it should not reach to violence.
"But it seems there is no faith in the institution," Kokaram said.
Therapy in mediation
Problems solved, via mediation, often eliminated bitterness and created a sense of understanding among parties, Kokaram explained."This would result in a transformation in society where persons can peacefully co-exist. Mediation must also go hand-in-hand with any crime-fighting tool. It must go hand-in-hand with any social development and community development tool," he added.
A mediation caravan was expected to come on stream soon to target primarily rural communities."The mediation process would be lost if we don't take it to the country areas and we want to start that next year and get personalities involved," Kokaram said.He said the education drive also would be extended to the schools, including the primary school, where puppets would be used to teach children how to resolve disputes.
He added: "In the secondary schools we want to target schools which seems to have more violent eruptions than others. "And at the same time the prestige schools cannot be ignored because those are children who will be left to certain vices and if they are not exposed to this whole concept of transforming their life, they will slip," Kokaram said.
Mediate 'first pledge'
Businessmen embattled in the courts could avoid costly legal fees with the introduction of a mediate first pledge, he said.He added: "We go to the business community and get them to pledge that they promise to mediate first before going to the courts and this has been done in other counties, like Hong Kong and Canada.
"It something we believe that could transform the business community as well. They could introduce it into their contracts."In the pilot project we had multi-million dollar claims settled in mediation," Kokaram said. While cases involving the business sector takes up a large portion of the courts time, Kokaram, however, indicated that land disputes were top on the list. "After land was commercial debt, like debt collection, breach of contract cases," Kokaram noted.
What is mediation
It is a process where disputants or parties engage in discussions through the use of a mediator. The mediator is a neutral third party who takes no sides, makes no decision but uses skill and expertise yo facilitate discussions to work out options for settlements. Other ADR methods include arbitration, mediation-arbitration, early neutral evaluation and settlement conferences.
How much does mediation cost
The cost to mediate ranges between $500 to $1,000 and is shared by both parties. Mediation could take as long as three to four hours and as short as a half-and-hour, Kokaram said. "There are some disputes we sent to the pilot project which were resolved within the first hour."