BELIZE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nigel Ebanks and Darinka Muñoz, Barrow and Williams LLP
tion. Lower costs, simplified processes and quicker results are all factors motivating parties to approach ADR with increasing openness and acceptance. The most popular ADR methods in Belize are Pre-Action Protocol Letters and mediation. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System The Belize legal system promotes a culture of consen- sual dispute resolution within its civil justice system. A court may refer a claim to court-connected mediation even without the parties’ consent, and may also direct court-connected arbitration. 12.3 ADR Institutions Under the Senior Courts (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2025, several ADR mechanisms are available. • Pre-Action Protocols require parties to engage in good-faith settlement discussions before filing claims, encouraging information exchange and early resolution. • Mediation may be ordered at any stage, to be conducted by accredited mediators from a certified judicial roster. • Judicial Settlement Conferences allow the presid- ing officer to assist the parties in evaluating the merits of their case, exploring settlement options and even offering a non-binding assessment of likely outcomes. • Court-connected arbitration enables the court, with the parties’ consent, to refer a claim to arbitration under the Arbitration Act.
In addition, Part 74 of the Senior Courts (Civil Proce- dure) Rules, 2025 establishes a framework of court- connected arbitration, allowing the court, with the consent of the parties, to refer claims to arbitration at or after the case management conference stage by formal submission notice and court order. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Most commercial disputes are arbitrable, but matters involving criminal, tax, constitutional, public law, fam- ily law, intellectual property and property title issues remain non-arbitrable. A particular subject matter may also be determined to be non-arbitrable if the rules chosen by the parties to govern the conduct of their arbitration do not provide for the arbitration of that particular subject matter. 13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award In respect of local awards, the Arbitration Act pro- vides that the court may remove arbitrators or umpires who misconduct themselves. Furthermore, the court may set aside an arbitration or award that has been improperly procured. A foreign award shall not be enforceable under the act if the court dealing with the case is satisfied that: • the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made; • the party against whom the enforcement of the award is sought was not given notice of the arbitra- tion proceedings in sufficient time to enable them to present their case, or was under some legal incapacity and was not properly represented; or • the award does not deal with all the questions referred or contains decisions on matters that are beyond the scope of the agreement for arbitration, provided that, if the award does not deal with all the questions referred, the court may, if it thinks fit, either postpone the enforcement of the award or order its enforcement subject to the giving of such security by the person seeking to enforce it as the court may think fit.
13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration
Arbitration in Belize is governed by the Arbitration Act, Chapter 125 of the Laws of Belize, revised edi- tion 2020, which regulates both local awards under the Geneva Protocol (1923) and foreign awards pursu- ant to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1973. The arbitral procedure, including the composition of the arbitral tribunal, is generally governed by the will of the parties to the arbitration.
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