The Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation (GGAM), has appealed to the Ministry of Attorney General and Minister of Justice to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Ministry of Justice and AG’s Department.
Gamey & Gamey said the ADR will use mediation, negotiation and arbitration to tackle disputes and cases to reduce the number of cases pending at the law courts.
Making the appeal, Mr. Austin A. Gamey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation, said the Attorney General and Justice Department should establish a specialized ADR Department with well trained professional ADR practitioners.
According to him, the ADR Department will help the state to overcome the numerous judgment debts and minimize the numerous cases that have over-whelmed the judicial system.
He said this at a closing ceremony of the 16thProfessional Executive Master of ADR class organized and attended by 30 participants including lawyers, chiefs, surveyors, human resource practitioners, trade unionists, members of the security agencies, ministers of religion and others from outside Ghana.
“As we all know, litigation throughout the court system cannot resolve these issues. The best approach will be the ADR. These are the challenges you as ADR professionals must be preparing yourself to meet,” he stated.
He said the ADR Act 2010 (798) imposes on the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice the responsibility to oversee the establishment of an ADR Department therefore, Gamey & Gamey stand ready to assist the AG’s Department to achieve this objective.
According to him, most of the biggest conflicts in the country and still standing were resolved to calm through mediation, negation and arbitration-the three basics of ADR.
He cited cases like the Dagbon, Elevanyo and Nkonya, Bawku, Nanumbas and Konkombas, Peki and Tsito, and more recently, Ga Mashie areas.
Mr. Gamey indicated that conflict is part of humans settlements however, it is how disputes are managed that will determine whether a society can still remain peaceful or wallow in perpetual conflicts like the case of Syria, Libya, South Sudan and others.
The Guest speaker, Mr. William Kpobi, Chief State Attorney/Director of Litigation unit (A-G Dept) said Ghana has made efforts in creating avenues within the justice delivery system mechanisms that address some of the principles that underpin ADR.
The pre-try mechanism at the commercial division at the High Court, he stated “before a commercial court take up a case and take evidence, the case is refered who will try to mediate, if mediation fails the matter goes to the court.”
He has therefore support the appeal by the GGMA CEO because Ghana loses a lot of money to international lawyers to hire their services whenever the country engages in any international arbitration.
Mr. Kpobi has acknowledged GGAM for raising international and local ADR professionals which will help address some of these challenges however, urged that more need to be done to develop more international ADR practitioners.
For instance, he added, long before the passage of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act 2010 (798), Ghana had a legal aids scheme and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to provide services using mechanisms that fall within ADR.
The Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation, an affiliate of PULSE Institute based in Canada and the Mediation Training Institute based in the USA, trained the participants for 25-weeks on topics such as Pulse concept and practice in professional resolution, effective interest-based negotiation, self-mediation and managerial/leadership mediation from foreign experts.
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