This is how President of the Alternative to Dispute Resolution (ADR) Association of Barbados Inc., Kumar Hathiramani, has described the civil litigation system in Barbados.

He was speaking on Wednesday night at the inaugural ADR lecture in the Liberal Arts auditorium of the Barbados Community College.

"Conflict is a natural interference of energies and is neither positive nor negative. The positive side is that it can allow different views to be aired, produces new ideas and strengthens relationships. It's what we do with conflict that makes the difference."

He said mediation was a developing discipline worldwide and an alternative to the adversarial style of the court system.

Since the ADR Association began in 2004, Hathiramani said it had been setting up its infrastructure and working on certifying its mediators.

"We are sensitising the public and law professionals at this point. It is still developing and we want it to develop on the right footing, and as such we are still in the process of setting the rules and guidelines for mediators to practice," he said.

Guest speaker at the event was Dr Linda Johnston, a conflict management professor from Kennesaw State University. She told of the progress of mediation overseas and urged the ADR Association to build on the system of judgement in Barbados instead of trying to import models from other countries.

"It is up to you to evaluate what you can do to improve the system. It won't be perfect the first year but it should be done thoughtfully and with the expertise of Barbadians," she said. (CA)