ADR settles 32,745 cases in 17 years 

By:  Gifty Amofa 

The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) connected to the court has settled 32,745 cases out of 67,943 cases referred to it, representing 48 per cent. This is between 2007 and 2023, Mr Alex Nartey, National Coordinator of ADR, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview. He encouraged the public to opt for the court-connected ADR as it heals wounds and repairs broken relationships after settlement faster and cheaper. It does not rely on the strict legal rights of the parties involved and allows them to determine the pace. Mr Nartey said if at the end of the process, the parties were comfortable, it becomes the judgement of the day.  The National Coordinator said the mediation process had become prominent in the courts nationwide, and urged Ghanaians to take advantage, adding that with the ADR regime, nobody could blame the court for delaying his or her case. Mr Nartey said all cases, except those which were not amendable, (can only be tried by the Court) including human rights issues, aggravated assault, criminal cases of felony and interpretation of statutes, could be referred to ADR. He said ADR week was observed thrice in a legal year (annually), that is in March, July and November, noting that the upcoming one would be from July 15 to 19, 2024. Mr Nartey said there were other forms of ADR such as customary arbitration, but currently, there were 138 court-connected ADRs across the country, with 636 trained mediators ready to handle cases as land, divorce, matrimonial, commercial (debt collection), and landlord-tenant conflicts.  During the week celebration, mediation exercises are done where judges and magistrates are supposed to refer cases to mediators for mediation. For the records, 2022 had the highest with 8,967 cases, followed by 2021 with 8,166, 2023 with 7,804, 2013 with 6,668 and 2019 with 6,209. The year 2020 recorded 5,455, 2009 recorded 5,358, 2014 had 4,416, 4,392 for 2011, 2018 had 4,148 and 2010 had 3,754. For the remaining years – 2017, 2018, 2015 and 2016 had 3,486, 1,723, 1,464 and 1,372, in that order with 2007 recording the lowest of 853 cases. 

Source: Ghana News