The Court of Appeal in Abuja has formally kick-started Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system with an appeal by its President, Justice Monica Dongban -Mensem, to the judiciary to rise up and meet the challenges of adjudication in the 21st century.
If the challenges are met, the Appeal Court President expressed optimism that the country will become more attractive to international trade and foreign direct investment.
The mediation centre which is the first in West-Africa according to the President played host to both jurists, parties and stakeholders at its inaugural session.
In her remarks at the inaugural sitting of the Court of Appeal Mediation Center, Justice Dongban-Mensem, stated that good performance on the part of the country’s judiciary will improve employment and domestic economic growth.
The Appeal Court President who declared the session open recalled that the new system was initiated in 2018 as a way of ensuring speedy and efficient dispensation of justice as well as to promote amicable alternative to the adversarial justice system.
She further said the ADR represented an innovation which, if fully utilised, would introduce a multi- track justice delivery system to the appellate level and further boost justice delivery.
According to her, “Appellate mediation is now part of the global legal lexicon, straddling the appellate courts of countries like the United States of America, United Kingdom and Thailand.”
The Appeal Court President further stated that the overriding objectives of the Court of Appeal mediation center was to promote mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanism towards enhancing the administration of justice and speedy resolution of disputes.
Among others, Justice Dongban-Mensem further stated that the new system will assist parties in reaching an expedious resolution of their disputes in all good faith in a fair and efficient manner.
The Appeal Court President commended Justices Williams Daudu, Sotonye Denton-West and Philomena Ekpe for their commitment to the success of the center and Dr. Kehinde Aina for making the establishment of the center a reality.
Among the appellants at the session are a business tycoon, Chief Ned Nwoko, who described the ADR as a right step in the right direction and appealed to Nigerians to imbibe the new justice dispensation system.
