ADR makes strides in resolving cases

Statistics available from the Court Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) indicates that between 2007 and 2011 out of 16,080 disputes, 8,802 of them were settled through mediation.

These mediated cases represents about 55 per cent of all the cases resolved through the ADR system.

Mrs Justice Irene Danquah, an Appeal Court Judge in-charge of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programme disclosed this at an overview in Accra on Monday.

The overview organised by the Judicial Service with sponsorship from various donor agencies was to sensitise the general public on the need to use the ADR system for the adjudication of cases.

Mrs Justice Danquah urged litigants to adopt the ADR system because it was effective and guaranteed the interest of both parties.

She said the agreement reached at the end of the process was sent to the court for adoption as a consent judgment which was enforceable by the court.

Mrs Justice Danquah said currently the ADR programme had been extended to 51 District and Circuit Courts across the nation with at least three mediators assigned to each of these courts.

She said the ADR concept had served as a complement to the traditional court system in making access to justice cheaper, easier, expeditious and non-adversarial.

Mrs Justice Danquah said the ADR system had helped in reducing the backlog of cases in the court substantially due to the mass mediation exercise.

She therefore urged the general public to embrace and nurture the ADR system since it was a reliable partner to the traditional justice delivery system and an efficient way of resolving disputes.**