Ghana hosts alternative dispute arbitration conference

Ghana’s Dispute Resolution Management system is set to receive a major boost with the opening of an arbitration conference, to help Ghanaian lawyers build their capacity in international arbitration and related issues.

The two-day conference, on the theme: “The Evolving Spectrum in Dispute Resolution Management,” is being organised by Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in collaboration with the American Bar Association.

Participants include lawyers, judges and arbitrators from Ghana, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Canada.

They would engage in discussions on best practices, challenges and recommendations in dispute resolution management.

Mr Sam Okudzeto past President of the GBA, in a keynote address on the theme, expressed the need for a more rigorous training in Mediation and Arbitration, if Ghana is to benefit from the international trend of having well trained mediators and arbitrators.

He noted that until the passing of the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act 2010 (Act 798), dispute resolution in Ghana had a checkered history with a focus on resolving disputes through the courts.

He noted that in spite of the many challenges with dispute resolution at the courts, including the slow nature of court proceedings where cases like land litigation take 10 years or more, and important commercial disputes lingering for years with accumulation of interests to the claimant, alternate dispute resolution was frowned upon by lawyers.

“Often the request for settlement outside courts is considered that the person making the proposition has a weak case or even that he knows he would lose the litigation,” he stated.

He attributed the attitude towards alternate dispute resolution to the training that Ghanaian lawyers received, saying they are trained to be advocates who appeared before judges or magistrates to litigate on issues, while those judges and magistrates have been trained through the same system.

“There was no incentive by the judiciary to facilitate the resolution of issues by any other means other than litigation,” he stated.

Mr Okudzeto said through the introduction of ADR into the curriculum of the final year of legal training in the late 1990s, the passing of the ADR Act 2010 and efforts by Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood and Nene Ofoe Amegatcher, GBA President had contributed to a better appreciation for the practice of alternate dispute resolution.

However, the practical realisation of the process could not be said to be firm, thus the need for more training, he said.

He said though Ghana’s government’s over the years entered into bilateral agreements and contracts with foreign entities where arbitration clauses were included, the legal institution on which government relied for advice: the Attorney General’s Department, had no trained Arbitrators and often had to resort to foreign Arbitrators at great expense.

He also noted the increasing trend towards specialized offers in Arbitration such as Investment Arbitration, with several opportunities for study and sharing of ideas and knowledge on Arbitrators for those willing to learn and specialize.

Mr. Okudzeto said with the discovery and exploration of Oil and Gas, specialization in Oil and Gas disputes will soon be the order of the day, adding “those with the requisite knowledge of the Oil and Gas, as well as Energy and mining commodities will be needed as counsel, arbitrators, expert witness or arbitration court reporters, interpreters, arbitration case management firms as well as publishers of international arbitration literature.

Nene Ofoe Amegatcher, President of the GBA, said it was imperative, in view of challenges bedeviling the courts, for stakeholders to examine, consider, refine and adopt other alternatives to dispute resolution other than litigation.

He said the conference would be led by reputable speakers to ensure a richness and quality of exchange and fuse both theoretical and practical aspects of arbitrations.

He also urged participants to explore some of Ghana’s cultural and tourist attractions during their stay.