Chief Justice lauds ADR mechanism

The Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood has lauded the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) concept and recommended the sustenance of the mechanism for civil and commercial dispute resolution in the country.

She said Ghana had already endeared herself to the international community as a democratic, peaceful and fast growing economy of middle income status hence the need to put in place structures that would make Ghanaian arbitration centers an attractive destination for disputants.

Mrs Justice Wood was speaking at the closing of the third edition of training on arbitration in ADR at the Marian Conflict Resolution Center at the Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG) at Fiapre, near Sunyani on Friday.

The five-day training programme was jointly organised by the CUGC, the Sunyani Catholic Diocese, Giving to Ghana Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Fordham Law and St. John’s Law schools in the United States of America (USA).

Attended by medical doctors, lawyers and judges, academia and the clergy drawn from the USA, Australia, Malta and Ghana, the training was aimed at equipping participants with the fundamental knowledge and skills required in arbitrating disputes.

Mrs Wood said ADR played significant roles in the fulfillment of constitutional responsibilities and entreated Ghanaians to embrace the concept.

“Whenever there has been the need to reduce the backlog of cases inundating Ghanaian trial courts, ADR, as a core complementary component of the justice administration system, has aptly been deployed as an appropriate tool in this direction,” she said.

The Chief Justice expressed the hope that the training programme would not only help Ghanaians to solve conflicts but would deepen the strong international bonds of friendship between Ghana and the USA.

Rt. Rev. Mathew Kwasi Gyamfi, Bishop of the Sunyani Catholic Diocese, was optimistic that more professionals would participate in the training programme in coming years.

Certificates were presented to the participants.