Courtney Menzies was at the swearing in ceremony today and has this story.

About 2 dozen civil and criminal mediators were sworn in today at the High Court as a part of the ongoing transformation of Belize's justice system. The mediators all underwent a training program back in November and the goal is to ultimately assist the court with specific matters that can be solved through mediation rather than by a judge and jury.

Consuelo Godfrey, Criminal & Civil Mediator
"To become a mediator, you have to do rigorous training, so there's an introduction to mediation which is about a 40 hour training timeframe and then from there, you have to do an advanced training which is another 40 hours and then get sworn in and once you get sworn in, you can then do the criminal mediation which is another advanced course in mediation. Like family mediation, you have to do a specific type of training for criminal mediation because the dynamics and the nuances in criminal matters is different than civil matters."

"This is a big step. As you know we have a lot of civil cases that have been in this backlog as you call it, judicial backlog and I think one of the intentions and purposes of having more people sworn in as mediators, trained persons in various industries and different sectors in Belize, trained as mediators is to alleviate this backlog. It will take some time, I can tell you as a mediator who practices with the high courts, it does take time for cases to be referred to mediation but what I really like about the mediation process is that it gives parties an opportunity to talk, it gives parties an opportunities to have their say, something that doesn't normally happen in courts, it's the attorneys that usually speak on behalf of the parties. When it comes to criminal mediation, not all criminal cases would be mediated of course. There will be some degree of criteria and selection as to which cases will be mediated criminally. In terms of civil mediation though, it has been going really well, we've had a lot of cases gone to mediation and solved and resolved in mediation."

And High Court Justice Candice Nanton explain that all parties that are a part of the mediation process will have to consent but the cases that will be selected will have to meet a certain criteria.

Candice Nanton, High Court Justice
"It's in keeping with International standards in terms of restorative justice and in terms of ensuring that the backlogs are reduced because we do have a number of matters that are within the criminal courts and the criminal courts are working very hard at resolving those matters but there will be select matters that are fit for criminal mediation."

"Sometimes there may be a family dispute that the parties don't necessarily want to continue with the courts but court proceedings have been initiated and a better resolution may be something other than imprisonment for example so as I said, it would depend on the parties' consent, it would depend on the views of the office of the DPP, it would also depend on the selection criteria being met and that will be contained within the mediation rules."

And she also explained that mediation won't be the end for the cases:

Candice Nanton, High Court Justice
"It's a lot about talking, it's a lot about coming to resolutions jointly and with consent and voluntarily, there must be no pressure, the parties much engage in the process freely. And also the important aspect for criminal mediation is that it's not binding. It still has to go back to the judicial officer for approval so it's not that the parties just decide and that's the end of the matter, it must go back to the judicial officer who will review and decide whether it's an applicable or appropriate agreement. "

About 15 mediators are left to be sworn in.