Under the auspices of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of Haiti, - the C.C.A.H. depending on the Chamber of Commerce of Haiti (http://ccah.ht)-, and in partnership with the Center for Mediation and Arbitration of Paris (C.M.A.P. - http://www.cmap.fr), depending on the Chamber of Commerce of Paris, a five day training course was led in Port-au-Prince by Mr. Olivier Cuperlier, Attorney at Law, Paris Bar Association, and Mr. Jean-Bernard Dagnaud, arbitrator and mediator.

This training involved around thirty people including a large majority of attorneys and lawyers from non-profit associations or private companies, but also professors, accountants, engineers and other. The objective of the training was decidedly practical so that after a general presentation of the Haitian regulations on arbitration, the trainers conducted workshops so that trainees were brought on the basis of a simulation, to participate in arbitration proceedings, from their introduction to the award writing.

Enthusiastic participants have proved a good level; a number of them are now fully able to conduct arbitration proceedings, either as counsel or as arbitrator.

The objective was also that the C.C.A.H. and its executives (H.E. Mr. Henri Bazin, former Minister and Chairman of the C.C.A.H., and H.E. Mr. George Henry, former Minister and C.C.A.H. Secretary General) understand the necessary prerequisites for a Centre of Arbitration to administer in good conditions an arbitration procedure.

At the end of this training activity, and subject to some amendments to the rules of arbitration, the C.C.A.H. will soon be fully operational. Nevertheless, it should therefore be necessary to continue the training action to broaden the base of arbitration practice in Haiti including lead these actions to judges (and more specifically to the deans of the Court of First Instance that, in Haiti, act as judge of support and enforcement).

International experiences show that the arbitration cannot develop sustainably in a country if that country's judicial system is not fully responsive and cooperative.

The OHADAC reform would be a direct extension of the action of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of Haiti. This Institution, whose existence is crucial to strengthen the confidence of domestic and international investors in Haiti, will have its scope and efficiency multiplied by the establishment of the OHADAC regional system of arbitration.

In Africa, the OHADA regional reform gave full force to the National Arbitration Chambers of its seventeenth Member States. The OHADA initiated the golden age of arbitration on the continent and within each State.

For more information (press article): http://www.lenouvelliste.com

Contact: Mr. Olivier Cuperlier, Attorney-at-Law, Feltesse, Warusfel, Pasquier & Associates Law Firm, ocuperlier@fwpa-avocats.com