Chief Justice Anin Yeboah
Chief Justice Anin Yeboah has launched a new book on Alternative Dispute Resolution which is aimed at addressing the adversarial system of Ghana’s justice delivery mechanism.
The book titled ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution: A Ghanaian Perspective’ is written by two Court of Appeal judges, Justices Dominic Dennis Adjei and Barbara Frances Ackah-Yensu.
The 413-page book is aimed at helping judges, lawyers and arbitrators in the dispensation of justice to use alternative means to solve their problems rather than resorting to the usually long and costly court adjudications.
Alternative Dispute Resolution is an effective tool used in the adjudication of justice which most often heal wounds and bring a lasting solution to never-ending litigations.
With ADR, it is always ‘a win-win situation’, rather than the court system where a case could be decided in one party’s favour.
The Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah launching the book described it as a well-researched document and urged judges, lawyers and law students, to get copies.
He said ADR was one of the mechanisms introduced by the Judicial Service a decade ago to support the cause of administering justice.
Justice Yeboah told colleague judges and other guests that ADR had helped reduce the backlog of cases in many courts across the country.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame who was at the launch said the book was the first collaboration between two superior court judges and singled out the two judges for praise saying that “they are my favourite Justices of the Court of Appeal.”
For Justice Adjei, Mr Dame said the judge’s prolific writing skills were unmatched while describing Justice Ackah-Yensu, as someone with a strong sense of fairness and “the knack to get to the heart of cases before her.”
He said the need for lawyers to sharpen their skills in ADR was an urgent necessity.
Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye, the immediate past Speaker of Parliament on his part commended the efforts of the authors for writing a book that simplifies the law.
He observed that an adversarial system of justice had broken families apart, while delay in dispensing justice undermines the confidence of the people in the legal system.
In reviewing the book, Sampson Lardi Ayenini, a private legal practitioner said judges and lawyers would find in the book “an even more enlightening experience”.
Nana Professor S.K.B. Asante who chaired the occasion noted that the book filled the yawning gap in “our legal literature” while describing it as a must-read for lawyers, judges and law students.
Some of the topics treated in the book include Dispute Settlement and Conflict Resolution, Litigation Vs ADR, ADR and the Criminal Justice System, Concept and Enforcement Agreement, Party Autonomy, The Role Of The Arbitrator and Customary Arbitration.
The first copy of the book was sold at GH¢17,000, while the second and third copies were sold at GH¢15,000 and GH¢12,000 respectively.
In all, about 100 copies were sold.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak