Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie
THE CHIEF Justice (CJ), Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has called on Ghanaians to believe in the judiciary as his tenure seeks to ensure fair, timely, inclusive and sustainable service for all.
Speaking at the launch of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Week under the theme, “Adoption of Innovation and Technology to Enhance Access to Justice Delivery through ADR,” he said, “we will ensure that justice in Ghana remain fair, timely, inclusive and sustainable, and that is the vision of the judiciary.”
Highlighting the need to adopt innovation and technology methods in ADR process, the Chief Justice said there is a need for petitioners to innovate in dispute resolution through technology, to ensure efficiency and timely resolution of disputes while the fundamental principles of justice delivery remain constant.
He also indicated that, the adoption of ADR by parties to resolve disputes is cost effective, time-saving and gives opportunity to people in remote (rural) areas to easily access the courts and justice.
“This is because technology can facilitate virtual mediation sessions without travels of litigants or parties,” he stated, and revealed that there are growing demands by litigants to resort to ADR in resolving disputes since it was introduced in the country’s judicial system in 2005.
“This is as a result of the number of cases successfully settled through the ADR mechanisms in the country. For instance, from January to December 2024, 7,324 cases were referred to ADR connected courts in the country, and out of that 2,195 were successfully settled,” he added.
Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie disclosed that ADR has reduced congestion in the courts, and therefore urged members of the Bar to recommend ADR processes of resolving disputes to their clients.
He also appealed to the media to educate the general public on the advantages of using ADR mechanism in solving disputes, emphasising it’s friendlier and less adversarial outcome.
He also indicated that the Judicial Service has approved recruitment of professional ADR mediators throughout the country, adding that currently there are 138 ADR connected courts with 336 trained professional mediators.
On her part, a justice of the Court of Appeal with oversight responsibility for ADR, Her Ladyship Angela Mensah Homiah, re-emphasised the importance of ADR in disputes resolution, saying it prevents excessive delays at the court, reduce cost of litigation, as well as less adversarial outcomes among others.
FROM Daniel Y. Dayee, Sunyani