Takoradi, Nov. 20, GNA – Justice Irene Charity Larbi, a Justice-in-Charge of the National Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Programme, says the ADR is a reliable partner to the traditional justice delivery system.
He, therefore, said it should be embraced and nurtured for quality justice delivery system in the country.
The ADR mechanism, mainly used to arbitrate civil and misdemeanour cases, is a faster means of resolving issues while each party becomes happier at the end.
This is unlike the court system where there is a winner and a loser characterised by acrimony that may span generations.
Justice Larbi was speaking at this year’s ADR Week Celebration at the Takoradi Circuit Court in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis, under the theme: “Application of ADR by the Courts: A Shared Responsibility for Quality Justice”.
She said litigants and lawyers must uphold the opportunities offered under ADR to entrench its usage in the judicial system.
Currently, the ADR system has been extended to 107 courts with 590 mediators who have been able to settle 3,486 cases, representing 45 per cent between January and December 2017.
The ADR concept has served as a complement to the traditional court system in making access to justice cheaper, easier, expeditious, non-adversarial and faster for the citizenry.
She said the process contributed significantly to reducing backlog of cases and decongesting the court, adding; “Parties do sign and complete Consent Form as documentary evidence that both parties and their lawyers have agreed to have the matter resolved by the ADR”.
Mrs Nana Bema Adenu-Mensah, a Lawyer with the Western Branch of the Ghana Bar Association, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency, said ADR offered a faster way of settling cases, which otherwise could linger for many years.
She said it was high time the ADR system was promoted to help decongest the prisons of civil and other minor cases as well as promote peace and harmony among families and the society.
In a related development, the Western Regional Coordinating Council, in collaboration with the Institute of Paralegal Training and Leadership Studies, has trained some staff of the Regional Coordinating Council and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives in ADR to help settle cases in their districts.
At the graduation ceremony in Sekondi, the Regional Minister, Dr Kwaku Afriyie, said coherent and peaceful existence was paramount to societal growth.
He said the skills acquired by the MMDCEs was, therefore, crucial to help settle communal issues adding that human development could be enhanced or derailed by how conflicts were managed and handled.
Mr Alex Nartey of the National Association of ADR Practitioners, said such social skills was needed by leadership to enable them to engage competently.
GNA
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