It should also be adopted for divorce and family mediation, community mediation, restorative justice, environmental mediation, and employment disputes.
Prof Paul Obo Idornigie, SAN made this statement on Saturday, 23rd, June at the 3rd Hon Justice Chukwudifu Oputa JSC (Rtd) Professional Training and Mentoring Programme for young lawyers, organised by JK Gadzama LLP, held at Abuja.
Prof Paul Obo Idornigie, SAN while speaking on the topic: “The Alternative Dispute Resolution Option: Tips For Young Lawyers,” interrogated the topic from a different perspective, especially as to when ADR should be adopted.
[caption id="attachment_102482" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT, Justice I. U. Bello at the event[/caption]
Speaking on the philosophy of ADR he stated that ADR is very important in solving disputes between contracting parties in that even the Holy Books support same. Quoting from the Holy Bible he stated Jesus’ statement on a brother solving a problem he has against another.
“It is interesting to observe that the Holy Books support ADR. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus encouraged settlement thus: If someone brings a lawsuit against you and takes you to court, settle the dispute with him while there is time before you get to court.
He also quoted the book of Genesis 18:23-33 where Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, as an example of ADR in the Bible and Holy Quran 49:9 which emphasized the place of Negotiation and Mediation/Conciliation in settling disputes.
He further stated that though generally, crimes are not arbitrable, however, where offences are compoundable, settlement can be reached. He stated provisions of some enactments that support his claims such as, Section 14(2) of EFCC Act 2005, Section 63 Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2004 and Sections 270-277 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
[caption id="attachment_102481" align="alignleft" width="400"]
Chief Gadzama SAN presenting certificate to a Participant[/caption]
Roseline Obiageli Nwosu (Mrs) said that there are some factors young lawyers who want to gain headway in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) must consider in other to succeed in their career as legal practitioners.
This she stated when delivering a paper titled, “ADR Practice: Prospects, Challenges and Tips for Success.”
According to her, the ADR spectrum is quite wide and covers a whole range of alternatives to litigation which involve third-party intervention to assist resolution of conflicts such as Arbitration, Mediation, Judicial Appraisal, High-low Arbitration, Adjudication, Negotiation, Expert Determination, Ombudsman, Med-Arb, Arb-Med, Executive Tribunal, Neutral fact finder, Early Neutral Evaluation and Conciliation. She noted that amongst all processes stated, the most common ones are Arbitration and Mediation, thereby laying focus on them for better appreciation of the topic and the theme of the year programme which is “ADR AS AN OPTION: TIPS FOR YOUNG LAWYERS.”
Speaking of the prospects and challenges in ADR practice, prospects, she stated that ADR is relatively new and the practice is growing every day with a lot of prospects. She further stated that with time, ADR has become more acceptable as even the judiciary has so far integrated ADR mechanism in the justice system.
[caption id="attachment_102479" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT, Justice I. U. Bello ( middle), Chief J-K Gadzama (SAN), Prof. Paul Idornigie( SAN) and participants at the 3rd Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (JSC), professional training and mentoring programme for Young lawyers held at S.M.A. Belgore Hall, J-K Gadzama Court, Garki 2, Abuja yesterday.[/caption]
“Many rules of Court contain provisions for Arbitration, Mediation and other forms of ADR. As a result, many Courts now have Multi door Court Houses where such resolutions are carried out and then recorded as consent judgments by the Court. These have helped so much in relieving the Courts’ dockets.
“The attitude of the Courts in recent cases shows that they are changing and becoming more supportive of ADR generally and arbitration in particular. Our Institute, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, has been carrying out a lot of training for Judges in this area and we are beginning to see the results,” she said.
On challenges, she stated that though there have been a lot of improvements in this area, there is still a long way to go. According to her, the rate of success for ADR practitioners is lower than expected as many lawyers in the ADR field are finding it difficult to develop a stable business practice in this area because the supply of Practitioners outweighs the demand by clients.
“The difficulty in enforcement of awards is worrisome. At the moment, almost all awards are challenged in Court. In most cases, an award is the first step before litigation and in many such cases, it takes as long as 7years to finally enforce an award. In Family Law Mediation, many social workers have joined the race while in Arbitration, many retired Judges and other officials in the Court environment have cornered it,” she added.
Giving some tips for success which form the basis of the paper, she stated that for someone to be successful, the person must be passionate and have a vision, belief in self and a positive attitude, achieve specialization and build a brand, engage in continuous personal development, work hard and develop a culture of excellence, be focused and persevere, achieve visibility, find a mentor/mentors, build a powerful support network and finally leave the rest to God.
The event was graced with the presence of some dignitaries such as the Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT, his Lordship Hon. Justice I.U. Bello who chaired the event, as well as Mr. Isaiah Bozimo, FCIArb (UK), amongst others.]]>
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