Appropriate Dispute Resolution system to have fund
Ghana’s Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) system may soon clear its funding challenges with plans to establish an ADR Fund.
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According to the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, a portion of the court fees would be set aside for the fund.
She explained that the increase in the new court fees which many individuals had described as exorbitant would play a crucial role in ADR funding.
The Chief Justice, who gave an explanation for the increase in court fees for the first time in public, said the ADR Fund would provide a consistent, hybrid and sustainable method of payments of remuneration for mediators to incentivise them to deliver on their mandate.
Justice Wood made this known at the inaugural alumni conference on ADR which was on the theme, “Promoting the skills of the professional ADR practitioners”, yesterday in Accra.
Alumni Conference
The conference, which was organised by Gamey and Gamey Academy of Mediation (GGAM), brought together participants in the professional executive ADR programme of the academy to deliberate on issues that would help advance ADR courses offered by the academy.
It also brought together professionals such as lawyers, journalists, lecturers, doctors, bankers, labour activists, traditional and religious leaders in consultancy and training in ADR.
The conference was also used to mentor and coach mediators of the academy in order to push the agenda of ADR across the country.
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Interventions
Touching on some interventions to ameliorate the challenges of ADR practice, Justice Wood said plans were underway to use external professional mediators to reduce the burden of the judges in the courts by October.
She further indicated that a governing board for the independent ADR centres would be established to train and accredit ADR providers, as well as provide guidelines for attorneys in accordance with the Courts Act.
She sounded a wakeup call to the Judiciary and the Bar to build competence in ADR, especially in civil proceedings, adding that ADR practitioners must also identify and address challenges relating to appropriate utilisation of their profession ethically.
“We need a judicial environment that will attract support and investment through an accessible justice system, and making ADR one of the pillars of qualitative justice in Ghana,” she concluded.
Expedite process
The Chief Executive Officer of GGAM, Mr Austin Gamey, told the media that there was the need to mainstream ADR to help litigants resolve their differences.
He reiterated his call on the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to expedite processes for the establishment of the national ADR centre.
Mr Gamey said he believed that the centre, when established, would be a rallying ground for all ADR professionals and would help shape practice.
Mantle of ADR
For his part, the Minister of Employment, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said the Bench and the Bar must restore Ghana’s pride with the mantle of ADR.
Although there were ethical and procedural challenges to ADR, he said, ADR was more useful than the time and cost associated with litigation.