Managing Partner C.A. Nigel Hughes Addresses Global Investment and Dispute Resolution at BVI Arbitration Week

Hughes, Fields & Stoby was pleased to be represented at BVI Arbitration Week, one of the Caribbean’s premier international dispute‑resolution forums, by its Managing Partner, C.A. Nigel Hughes.

During the week‑long programme, which brought together arbitration practitioners, investors, policymakers, and industry leaders from across the globe, Mr. Hughes delivered a presentation focusing on global investment trends in Guyana, the evolving dispute‑resolution landscape, and the implications of rapid economic growth driven by large‑scale infrastructure development.

Guyana’s Growth and Infrastructure Investment

In his presentation, Mr. Hughes highlighted the unprecedented pace of public infrastructure expenditure in Guyana, noting that Government‑led capital projects now amount to hundreds of millions of United States dollars annually. These projects span critical sectors including energy, transportation, public utilities, and industrial development, and are reshaping Guyana’s economic and legal landscape.
He observed that the scale and complexity of these projects have attracted significant foreign participation, resulting in contracts governed by international standards and sophisticated risk‑allocation mechanisms. In many cases, such contracts incorporatedispute‑resolution clauses that designate forums outside the Caribbean, often in North America or Europe.

Dispute Resolution and the Regional Opportunity

Mr. Hughes addressed the implications of this trend for Caribbean jurisdictions, noting that while international arbitration remains an es

sential tool for managing cross‑border risk, the routine export of disputes from the region raises important questions of access, cost, and regional capacity‑building.

He advocated for the greater use and development of regional arbitration centres, emphasizing that the Caribbean possesses the legal expertise, judicial heritage, and institutional capability to serve as a credible and efficient seat for resolving complex commercial and investment disputes.
As part of his remarks, Mr. Hughes reaffirmed Hughes, Fields & Stoby’s commitment to supporting regional dispute‑resolution frameworks, including through advocacy, professional collaboration, and active engagement with arbitration institutions across the Caribbean.

Contemporary Infrastructure Disputes

Reference was also made to ongoing arbitration proceedings arising from major infrastructure projects in Guyana, including disputes connected to:

• the Gas‑to‑Shore Project, and
• construction‑related claims arising within the broader Gas‑to‑Shore development framework.

These matters, Mr. Hughes noted, illustrate both the inevitability of disputes in large‑scale projects and the importance of robust, well‑designed dispute‑resolution mechanisms capable of handling technically complex and high‑value claims.

A Regional Voice in a Global Forum

BVI Arbitration Week provided an important platform to engage with international stakeholders on the Caribbean’s evolving role in global dispute resolution. Mr. Hughes’ participation underscored the firm’s longstanding focus on cross‑border commercial work, public‑sector advisory, and dispute resolution involving major development and infrastructure projects.

Hughes, Fields & Stoby continues to advise clients across the public and private sectors on investment‑related disputes, arbitration strategy, and risk management in an environment of rapid economic transformation.