Marie-Camille Pitton, Secretary General of the CARO Centre, was a guest on the “La So Matinale show” on Radio Sofaia Altitude, hosted by Sophie Peter.

Ms Pitton presented the first phase of the OHADAC project, supported by the Interreg Caribbean program, and the drafting of model texts to encourage legal integration by legal experts from the Caribbean.

She then introduced the topic of arbitration - a tool that can be used as an alternative to referring to the national courts - and mediation, which can be used to resolve a dispute in order to reach an agreement. In both cases, the services are designed to ensure access to justice and the rapid resolution of disputes.

Ms Pitton also gave a definition of arbitration and the process behind it, together with the role of the CARO Centre in appointing the arbitrator, a neutral third party who is an expert in his or her field.

She made a point of underlining the advantages of these types of procedure, such as the possibility of avoiding an overly long trial or costly, and the non-existence of appeal procedure.

Ms Pitton took the opportunity to introduce OHADAC's accelerated arbitration procedure, which can be used to obtain a final decision, the “arbitration award”, that is enforceable in France within four months, for example.

The arbitration award has the advantage of enforceability; it can be circulated in over 160 countries thanks to the signing of international conventions (New York Convention), meaning it is a highly effective tool in the world of business.

Marie-Camille Pitton went on to highlight the advantages of using the CARO Centre: anticipating costs and deadlines, making these techniques available to settle smaller disputes, and creating access to justice in the territory and Caribbean region.

She then reviewed the first day events held by the CARO Centre, beginning with the open day, which was an opportunity to welcome the public and introduce the programme. The second and third days were devoted to familiarizing lawyers, chartered accountants, legal practitioners and the Territorial Collectivities of Guadeloupe with the mediation and arbitration process.

These events generated a great deal of discussion, and were mutually enriching, with a wide variety of institutions, companies, private individuals and project leaders in attendance.

Finally, Marie-Camille and Sophie Peter discussed the Caribbean aspect of the OHADAC project and the CARO Centre. The Centre provides services for safeguarding agreements for companies keen to import or export internationally. The CARO Centre provides access to a secure forum; makes it possible to develop projects; and provides a more reassuring visibility for project leaders and business leaders in the region.

Marie-Camille highlighted the innovative, Caribbean nature of the Centre, where the management embodies - and the partners reflect - the diversity of the Caribbean region, promoting the development of economic activities across the territory as well as in other parts of the world.

For more information, please contact: secretariat@carohadac.org.

Find out more about the services provided by the CARO Centre: https://www.carohadac.org

Listen to the interview with Marie-Camille Pitton again: https://radio-sofaia-altitude.com/podcasts/marie-camille-pitton-le-centre-caro-emission-du-11-avril-2022-756