Adoption of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program by the judiciary reduced the caseload of the courts in Ghana by 29,558 cases; His Lordship Justice Anin Yeboah-Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana announced.
He suggested that if it were not for its introduction and implementation, "the courts would be burdened under more stressful conditions".
Before the adoption of ADR, the chief justice said, “it was clear around 2001 that the demand for justice from citizens had become so huge that the backlog of cases in the courts caused the speed with which cases were being determined by judges and magistrates. very slowly, creating a backlog of cases in the courts"
The above disclosure was made at the launch of the week-long ADR program held in Kumasi on Monday, July 25, 2022.
At the event, the President of the Court emphasized the importance of ADR and demanded that the leadership of the Court Service focus on ADR and empower the ADR Directorate to do more to make the court system more efficient, user-friendly and make access to justice easy.
"Nearly all of our judges and magistrates have been trained in ADR and are all familiar with the basic principles on which the use of ADR is based," he said.
He reminded the general public that “ADR has become an essential component of the Ghanaian judicial system. This means that a case in court in Ghana today can be finally decided either through ADR or litigation. ADR parties should not feel undervalued in this matter.”
"As such, I recommend ADR to everyone in appropriate cases. I do so because the benefits of using ADR far outweigh those of litigation," added the Chief Justice.
The theme of the event was "Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): A Tool for Peace and Stability".
ADR was introduced in 2005 as an intervention to relieve pressure on the regular court system and to create a platform that would offer disputants the opportunity to play a key role in the resolution of their disputes.
Addressed by Her Majesty Judge Irene-Charity Larbi, Judge of the Court of Appeal and Judge in charge of ADR, a week is set aside in each legal year to raise awareness among the general public in order to support and consolidate this intervention. .
She used this opportunity to highlight the two main activities that take place during each ADR week.
They are; Use of ADR (mediation) to resolve cases and create public awareness.
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