By Joyce
Danso, GNA
Accra, July 16, GNA – Ms Sophia A. B. Akuffo,
the Chief Justice on Monday opened the national Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) Week at a ceremony in Accra with a call on the public to embrace it to
decongest the courts.
This year’s ADR week under the theme: “Quality
Justice: The role of ADR,” is commencing in 107 courts (District and Circuit)
across the country with at least five mediators assigned to each court.
So far, 590 mediators have been trained and
assigned to the Court Connected ADR programmes. Between January and December
2017, a total 3,486 cases were mediated out of which 1,571 were settled.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ms Akuffo said the
Judicial Service had planned to roll out the ADR quarterly instead of it taking
place a week in each legal year term.
According to the Chief Justice, Court
Connected ADR (CCADR’s) had come to stay and urged parties in matters to
embrace it because it saves time, cost and decongest the courts.
“It is time that we allow justice through ADR
instead of looking at jurisdictions. ADR empowers the individual and lawyers.
Clients are likely to be more satisfied with lawyers who help them select and
implement appropriate and cost effective options for resolving disputes,” she
said.
Ms Akuffo was elated that parties were now
requesting the ADR, noting that it was about time that “Ghanaians deepen their
commitment to the cause of justice by resorting to interventions that make
access to justice more meaningful than the adversarial system that many are
used to.”
She explained that rules of the courts
prescribed amicable resolution of cases before the courts, adding that the
Judicial Service since 2005 had created space and the necessary environment to
serve the litigating public with all the benefits of ADR.
It aimed at making quality justice real and
accessible to all especially to the poor and vulnerable.
“Quality justice can only be said to have done
when the adjudication process is expeditious, devoid of unnecessary expense and
ensures that all matters in disputes between parties are completely effectively
and finally determined and the multiplicity of proceedings concerning such
matter are devoid,” she said.
According to her the normal court procedures,
being adversarial have had its own strengths but they are characterised by
factors that occasioned delays and cost.
“It was for this reason that the Judicial
Service adopted ADR to ensure that quality justice is not compromised and I
urge our Judges to resort to ADR at every opportunity,” she said.
The Chief Justice said additionally ADR ensure
privacy noting that matters were not heard in the open and it also assisted
parties to voluntarily comply with agreements.
“ADR offers great savings in financial, time
and emotional cost to the parties. It has helped decongest the cost… this
undoubted makes the judiciary more efficient. Efficiency of the justice system
is one of the element investors look out for when deciding whether to invest in
the country or not.”
Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo, a Supreme Court
Judge and Supervising Judge for ADR, said the Judicial Service was championing
the benefits of ADR through public education.
The ADR week which commenced on Monday July
16, would end on Friday July 20.
GNA