By Razak Baba
The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah says the courts can only be said to be friendly when the adjudication process is expeditious, devoid of unnecessary expense and ensures that as far as possible, all matters in dispute between parties are completely effective and finally determined and the multiplicity of proceedings concerning such matters are avoided.
He says though the regular court system has its own strengths, it is characterized by factors that occasion delays and cost, thereby making access to justice most of the time very difficult.
Justice Anin-Yeboah has, therefore, urged judges, lawyers and parties involved in disputes to resort to the Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR concept. He made these remarks at the launch of the ADR Week in Kumasi.
It has been 16 years of implementing the court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR programme, which is intended to ease pressure on the regular court system and to create a platform that would offer disputants the opportunity to play a key role in resolving their disputes.
The ADR also serves as a complement to the traditional court systems in making access to justice cheaper, easier, expeditious, non-adversarial and faster for the citizenry. It is in this respect that the Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin Yeboah declared Monday, 25th to Friday 29th July as Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR week. As such, all lower courts in the country are expected to start settling cases through alternative dispute resolution.
This year’s ADR Week is dubbed: ‘Access to Justice: ADR, A Tool for Peace and Stability’. One hundred and 31 lower courts will participate in the nationwide exercise, with the aim of reducing the backlog of cases at these courts.
These would be in 33 circuit courts and 98 district courts. Speaking at the launch of the event in Kumasi, Justice of the Court of Appeal and judge in charge of the Alternative Dispute Resolution, Her Ladyship Justice Irene-Charity Larbi outlined some advantages of ADR.
These include privacy over conventional litigation, help decongest the courts, thus allowing judges to have more time in handling cases which are not amenable to ADR.
The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah said the constitutional mandate of the judiciary is to resolve disputes of all kinds in order to guarantee peace and stability for national cohesion and development.
However, around 2001 it became clear that the demand for justice by the citizenry had become so huge that the backlog of cases in the court had rendered the rate at which cases were determined by judges and magistrates very slow thereby creating a backlog of cases in the courts.
The Chief Justice said since its inception in 2007, the court-connected ADR programme continues to achieve success in the settlement of cases.
Apostle Felix Osei Yaw, a beneficiary of ADR, shares his view on the concept, saying the use of ADR has enabled him to have a healthier method to resolve protracted disputes.
