The Bahamas stands "no chance" in establishing itself as a regional center for international arbitration if it does not revamp its immigration policy regarding foreign lawyers, according to a noted Q.C.
Speaking at a recent conference hosted by the Bahamian branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Brian Moree said that the prospect of barring international clients from using foreign lawyers in dispute resolutions is an "absurdity".
"To merely state that we want to be a regional international arbitration center but we don't want to [allow] any foreign lawyers reveals the absurdity of that position - it cannot happen.
"If foreign lawyers cannot have free ingress and egress in and out of our country, there will be no chance that our center will be used," said Moree.
Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that seeks to settle disputes outside of court. The Bahamian branch of CIArb and other organizations have long sought to establish The Bahamas as a regional center for arbitration, leveraging its strategic geographic location to attract business from the Americas.
Moree, senior partner at McKinney Bancroft & Hughes, argued that parties utilizing a future arbitration center in The Bahamas need the freedom to bring in whomever they desire with respect to their legal and litigation support teams.
Moree noted that the project will not succeed if future clients and support staff have to go through the current work permit process, stating: "It cannot be overly bureaucratic, and it must not take too long. Why? Because they'll go elsewhere."
Although aware of the resistance from many members of the Bahamas Bar Association (BBA), Moree stressed that avoiding immigration reform would kill any chances of being regionally competitive in arbitration.
"If we're not able to do it, let's not waste our time talking about an arbitration center, because it isn't going to happen," said Moree.
Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder largely supported Moree's remarks, adding that work needs to be done in "sensitizing" members of the BBA to the need for, and opportunities presented by, foreign arbitration specialists.
"We have to have a sensitivity in the Bar to what we are trying to do, and it's not strictly an immigration issue.
"What it's going to take to be successful is some liberalization of the Bar community, to allow for the lawyers of clients who are choosing the jurisdiction to work with professionals in this jurisdiction," said Pinder.
He made similar remarks last month at the 2014 Nassau Conference. During his contributions, he suggested that the country's current immigration policy needs to adapt by allowing foreign law firms with "necessary expertise" to operate within The Bahamas.
In light of concerns from the BBA, Pinder assured that the government is not considering "opening the floodgates" with respect to international lawyers and arbitrators, but stressed the necessity of liberalization to develop the jurisdiction's arbitrational capabilities.
"We have to have the confidence in ourselves and also the willingness to understand [that] we are in an international marketplace, and with that comes international professionals, international clients and we have to be sensitive about it," he said.
Pinder added that he had received Cabinet approval to engage Jan Paulsson, an expert in international arbitration from the University of Miami, to act as a "personal advisor" to the government in developing any future amendments to the country's arbitration laws.
Paulsson will also reportedly assist in developing a platform for The Bahamas as well as advise on engaging members of the judiciary in matters of arbitration.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
