News
Public urged to opt for ADR
A Justice of the Court of Appeal with oversight responsibility for ADR, Mrs Angelina Mensah-Homiah, has urged members of the public to opt for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for the many benefits that comes with it.
In a media engagement in the Ashanti region, she emphasised that resolving cases through ADR either than litigation “brings finality to such cases faster than going through the traditional processes in courts which are burdened with so many cases.”
According to her, about 38,447 out of 88,451cases, representing 43 per cent have successfully been resolved through the ADR initiative since its introduction into the justice delivery system in 2005.
The media brief formed part of pre-activities ahead of the ADR Week scheduled for March 17-21.
It allowed the team of officials from the ADR unit of the Judicial Service to visit the markets to sensitise the women on ADR as an option for court users.
She said that even cases already before the court could be withdrawn for settlement trough ADR.
At the Kumasi Race Course, the traders applauded the introduction of the ADR mechanism into Ghana’s justice delivery system, but wanted more public education on the initiative.
They stated that ADR presented a unique opportunity for court users to amicably resolve disputes devoid of litigation, but many of their people were not aware of the system.
Some of the traders who spoke to the media after an engagement with various queen mothers expressed their desire to take advantage of the mechanism in seeking redress.
Madam Beatrice Mpianin, the Deputy Queen mother at the Race Course Market, said it was refreshing to know that there was other means of settling cases without litigation and thanked the team for the education.
She, therefore, recommended ADR to her fellow women to save them legal fees and precious time that could be invested in their businesses.
She entreated the Judicial Service to extend the education on ADR to other markets in the metropolis for others to benefit from such important message.
Justice Mrs Dorinda Smith Arthur, a High Court Judge, who was part of the team, said ADR ensured dialogue between the two parties with the mediator only serving as a referee, hence the outcomes were mostly mutual.
She reminded them that since the outcomes of ADR were voluntary, no party could appeal after the consent judgment had been endorsed by the judge.
Justice Hannah Taylor, Supervising High Court Judge for Ashanti Region, said considering the tall list of cases before the courts, opting for ADR was the way to go in order to ease the pressure on Presiding Judges.
From Kingsley Hope E. Hope, Kumasi