Participants at a special sensitization programme on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at Jasikan have advocated for conscious capacity building strategies for stakeholders towards a steady growth and development of the latest approach in the country's justice delivery system.
Participants drawn from the traditional and religious leadership,Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), women groupings and other
identifiable groups welcomed the ADR concept and expressed the support for its rapid development.
The programme under the theme, "Court-Connect ADR: Access to Justice Made Simpler" is being rolled out by the Judicial Service (JS) of Ghana and funded by DANIDA.
Nana Apo III, Chief of Bodada-Buem, complained that parties summoned for arbitration flouted such invitations with impunity and sometimes rained insults on them.
The Reverend Monsignor Daniel Buor of the Jasikan Catholic Diocese was optimistic the reintroduction and decentralisation of the justice delivery system at the traditional level would empower chiefs to adjudicate, winning
back their dignity and confidence, which had waned in the public eye.
He urged the JS to plug all inherent loopholes and grant the legal backing that would empower chiefs and elders to adjudicate.
Mr Christian Hevi-Affuflu, Jasikan Circuit Court Judge, said the court-connect ADR was designed to rebuild the confidence and dignity of
traditional councils, stating that the Chieftaincy ACT and the Constitution empowers chiefs to cause the arrest of recalcitrant members of the community.
He said ADR and the automation of courts were some of the reforms of the JS which sought to bring justice to the grassroots level.
Mr Justine Bright Mensah, Jasikan Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said unenthusiastic attitudes to reading the Constitution and the Chieftaincy ACT limited the powers of some traditional leaders.
He therefore urged the JS to sustain a regime that would continuously educate major actors, including chiefs and opinion leaders, to deliver justice in a cost-effective manner devoid of stress and antagonism while at the same decongesting the courts.
Mr Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, Appeal Court Judge in-charge of ADR programme, said the widely acclaimed concept was meant to restore confidence
in the country's justice delivery system, promote good governance and rule of law, leading to sustained economic growth.
He said the formal dispute resolution or litigation bequeathed the country by the colonial masters through the courts, has been identified as
adversarial, fraught with acrimony, divisive and aggressive.
Mr Justice Marful-Sau indicated that with the exception of cases bordering on infringement of fundamental human rights, Constitutional
issues, public interest cases and criminal cases such as those on land disputes, landlord-tenant issues, family matters, divorce, child
maintenance, defamation, libel and criminal misdemeanours could be dealt with under ADR.
He said ADR accords Judges time to research and produce well-reasoned judgements thus promoting judicial confidence and professionalism.
Mr Alex Nartey, National ADR Coordinator, said ADR was institutionalized by the JS as an option that could be explored by disputants for mutually acceptable resolutions.
He explained that ADR, which is backed by adjudication methods of negotiation, mediation and arbitration, saves time and cost, assures
confidentiality, restores inter-personal relationships and fosters win-win solutions.