Introduction
A key aspect of any democratic society is the right of information which guarantees citizens knowledge of the activities of their government. The right is an expression of public interest that since it is the taxpayers who bank roll the government programmes, they have a valid interest in knowing how their funds are being put to use.
Arbitration as a means of alternative dispute resolution has the key advantages of being more expeditious and confidential than the litigation process; therefore safeguarding the commercial interests of the parties to arbitrations. This public interest of; protecting the commercial nature of arbitration seems to be in collision with the public interest of citizens accessing information held by the state that might arise out of arbitration proceedings.
The issue therefore is whether state bodies should forego the benefits of arbitration, as compared to litigation, in the name of securing the right to information. What if there was a way by which agencies could enjoy all the advantages accruing from arbitration while at the same time guaranteeing the public interest in their dealings?
By considering the right to information, the degree of confidentiality in arbitration proceedings as well as the allowed levels of transparency in arbitration, this essay demonstrates that arbitration as a means of adjudicating disputes involving state agencies shouldn’t be ruled out on account of its strict confidentiality requirements.
Transparency in Arbitration
Proponents of expanding transparency in commercial arbitration rely on the public’s stake hold in many issues adjudicated under commercial arbitration. They argue that the interest the public has necessitated measures like compulsory publi...
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...ires more than amendment of the UNCITRAL Rules. There are other aspects e.g. question of applicable law or state immunity.
UNCITRAL should fashion its transparency standards in the form of rules instead of guidelines, because rules have greater force in facilitating arbitrations than guidelines. Transparency contributes to promoting the rule of law, good governance, due process and rights to access of information.
In conclusion, it is possible for the parties to include a provision requiring confidentiality in reference to the evidence, and the proceedings of the arbitration. It must however be understood that this right is not absolute. Therefore, considering that the confidentiality requirement in arbitral proceedings is not absolute, courts can intervene to dispense with confidentiality, where there is a substantial public interest in the subject matter. .
What are the rights of a government? Does the government have the right to control what we think and where we get our intellectual stimulation? After the Constitution of the United States was drafted, a Bill of Rights containing ten articles was adopted and ratified by the thirteen states. In the first article, it guaranteed the people the freedom of religion, speech, the press, and public assembly. People were given the right to enrich themselves with knowledge accumulated through their readings from whatever source they chose and to make criticism towards the government as they saw fit. Because of the liberty given to its people, it is no wonder that the United States government is considered a model government in the world today. Any sound government would allow its people to make their own free judgement according to their knowledge from any sources they may gather.
3. The court stated: "We conclude that when the ground for asserting privilege as to subpoenaed materials sought for use in criminal trial is based only on the generalized interest in confidentiality, it cannot prevail over the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of justice. The generalized assertion of privilege must yield to the demonstrated, specific need for evidence in a pending criminal trial.
To the extent possible and practical, it is recommended that the court conduct meetings and phone conferences concerning media requests on the record and make all resulting orders on the record and/or in
which occurs against the discrimination of the private individuals, this is based on the first section which applies to the actions of the general violates even if not always do occurs for the state agents.
Macintyre, S. (1987), Holt and the Establishment of Arbitration: An Australian Perspective, New Zealand Journal of Industrial Relations, 12(3): 151-159.
Sue contracts with Tom to deliver a quantity of computers to Sue’s Computer Store. They disagree over the amount, the delivery date, the price, and the quality. Sue files a suit against Tom in a state court. Their state requires that their dispute be submitted to mediation or nonbinding arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved, or if either party disagrees with the decision of the mediator or arbitrator, will a court hear the case? Explain. (See Alternative Dispute Resolution.)
The general meaning of transparency implies openness, or see-through, which is then applied to socio-politics with regards to accessing information and governmental records to better enable knowledge sharing and accountability. Finel and Lord (1999) define transparency as legal, political, and institutional structures that make internal information about a government and society available to actors both inside and outside of domestic political systems. According to Ann Florini (1998; 2002; 2008), transparency is the opposite of secrecy and a choice encouraged by changing attitudes about what constitutes appropriate behavior. Gupta (2008) and Mason (2008) further highlight the complex, contested, and important nature of transparency as a tool
Freedom of Press; this right is design to discourage the government from operating in secrecy and from controlling the information citizens receive.
This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without
As citizens, we have the right to know what is going on in our government and this is why we have linkage institutions. These are very important in connecting the people with the government. There are four main types of linkage institutions: media, interest groups, political parties, and elections. If we did not have these things, we would be in the dark about everything to do with our government (Morone). These institutions are very vital in our political process. Even though we are not directly part of the government, we are still a big part of the process.
In conclusion, though the media serves as a platform to relay legal proceedings, it is evident that the media can pose serious negative influences upon the accused. Undue, unjust, and misconstrued comments by media houses will eventually lead to an unfair and prejudiced trial. Hence, the media must be regulated by exerting the law of contempt of court to prevent interference in the courts administration of justice including to reprove those found in violation of the basic code of conduct. However, the media can utilize the defence options available if he/she can prove otherwise.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) involves dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judicial process. There has been moves against ADR in the past by entities of many political parties and their associates, despite this, ADR has gained inclusive acceptance among both the broad community and the legal profession in past years. In fact, many courts now entail some parties to remedy to ADR of some type, usually mediation, before allowing the parties' cases to be tried. The increasing attractiveness of ADR can be clarified by the increasing caseload of traditional courts, the perception that ADR imposes fewer costs than litigation, a preference for confidentiality, and the desire of some parties to obtain larger control over the selection of the individual or individuals who will decide their dispute.
as the trust that EU citizens have in them. Transparency provides greater legitimacy and accountability of the administration in a democratic system because citizens are given the opportunity to understand the considerations underpinning EU regulations in order to exercise their democratic rights.. The Treaty of Amsterdam enshrined these principles. Article 255 TEC provided the legal basis for governing the right of public access to EU d...
An arbitrator’s function is usually to interpret the collective bargaining agreement between the parties, not to apply his or her standards of what is right in a given situation. The courts have sought to compel labour and management to a peaceful resolution of grievances through arbitration. The Supreme Court has given support to the arbitration process in a series of decisions, and judicial deferral to arbitration has become a basic tenet of national labour policy. Bibliography Byars, L. L. (1997). The.
Gies, T. P., & Bagley, A. W. (2013). Mandatory arbitration of employment disputes: What's new and what's next?. Employee Relations Law Journal, 39(3), 22-33.