ADR resolved 2,075 cases in 2018

Justice Irene Charity Larbi, the Judge -In-Charge of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), said her outfit settled 2,075 cases that were referred to the ADR last year.

She explained that the above figure is about 50 per cent of the 4,112 cases referred to the unit.

Justice Larbi said this is encouraging as the ADR concept is complementing the traditional court system.

She said the ADR system makes access to justice cheaper, easier, expeditious, and faster for citizens.

Justice Larbi was speaking at the launch of the 2019 ADR week celebration, held at Koforidua under the theme: “application of ADR by the courts, a shared responsibility for quality justice”.

Justice Larbi said ADR employs the services of mediators to assist two parties in disagreement to settle on a mutual understanding where the parties will both be satisfied without the intervention of the magistrate.

She said the agreement reached on, are drafted officially on paper and presented to the magistrate as a consent judgement to ensure that both parties fulfill their part of the agreement.

Justice Larbi said ADR has been extended to 107 courts in the country and has trained about 590 mediators of which five have been assigned to each of  the 107 ADR courts.

She said two major activities are carried out during every ADR week which include the use of ADR to resolve cases which have not yet been resolved in the courts and public awareness creation.

Justice Larbi said cases that are referred to ADR are not to show that the court is disinterested or to prove that the party that suggested it to the court is at fault but to help save time and reduce stress in the court.

She said ADR within the court system provides free services to parties unless the parties want to transfer their cases to private judicial firms which also approves of the ADR programme.

Justice Larbi said cases like murder, assault, armed robbery, rape, kidnap and other ferocious cases cannot be referred to the ADR.

Source: GNA