The first-ever private Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre has been established and opened in Kumasi to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts and disputes to help promote peace in Ghana and beyond.
Christened Peace and Love ADR Centre, the facility is the brainchild of Mr. Kwadwo Akuamoah Boateng, Kumasi Metropolitan Coordinating Director.
He noted that though the court system played a major role in the justice system, there was the need for a faster, less formal, and cost effective way of resolving disputes to complement the litigation system, hence, the ADR Centre to provide alternative dispute resolution services, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration and other forms of non-adversarial methods of resolving disputes.
Mr. Akuamoah Boateng mentioned speed, privacy of proceedings, low cost, and the engagement of renowned competent and experienced ADR practitioners as some of the benefits of engaging the services of the Centre, which include labour disputes, property and land disputes, marital disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, and insurance services and debt collection among others.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Peace and Love ADR Centre said all were involved in dispute resolution, and urged all to patronise the facility and make it useful.
Launching the new facility last Thursday, His Lordship Justice Kofi Akrowia, the Supervising High Court Judge in the Ashanti Region, emphasised that the court works by rules which cannot be circumvented in the determination of cases before it.
According to him, the ADR system, which was backed by law, was handy, hence, its recommendation by section 72 (1) and (2) of the Courts Act, and its introduction by the court system to ensure proper reconciliation and amicable settlement of disputes in the interest of the parties.
He also indicated that verdicts by the ADR system could not be overturned or appealed against, since the law courts endorse the results by an ADR mechanism.
The Supervising High Court Judge, therefore, urged the public to patronise the facility and its services to contribute to speedy dispute resolution.
Justice Akrowia also appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to allocate a budget for the training of ADR practitioners to study the rules and make the system effective.
Michael Gyan Owusu Esq., a private legal practitioner and President of Ghana ADR Hub, in his keynote address, said there were disputes that could not be resolved in the courts, hence, the adoption of ADR in the courts to address shortcomings in litigation and resolution methods.
He said the law prescribes that the court system allows cases to go through the ADR mechanism with the consent of the parties.
Lawyer Owusu stressed the importance of the ADR system in the fact that it promotes peace generally and ensures a harmonious society.
