362 cases recorded in nine districts

Page 31, Dec 5, 2007
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
NINE District courts in Accra have settled 362 cases between January and October this year under the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The district courts referred 191 cases back to the traditional courts while 13 cases are still pending.
A source at the ADR Secretariat, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra on Monday, said 90 per cent of the cases were each mediated and settled under two hours.
The cases included civil and minor criminal cases, such as debt recovery, land, family and community disputes as well as minor assaults.
The ADR mechanism started on a pilot project in District Courts in Accra in 2005 and institutionalised as part of the country’s justice system in October, this year.
The programme was extended to the three northern regions of the country on Monday(today).
The ADR programme advocates peaceful resolution of differences through dialogue. It also spearheads community and collective approach to disputes resolution in society and community through the courts.
The source said the ADR programme had proven to be one of the most suitable ways of making justice accessible to the poor in the country.
It noted that ADR system was free, voluntary, informal and faster for persons with cases before the courts, stressing that “medium to low income earners are able to access justice at the courts through ADR”.
It stressed that the ADR mechanism had reduced the backlog of cases in the courts and consequently enhanced access to justice in the country.
According to the source, recruitment of mediators had been completed in the Western, Central, Eastern, and Greater Accra regions pending their training.