The President of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) Chief Emeka Obegolu, PhD., SAN has called on all the National and Regional Bar Associations and Law Societies to support the teaching and practice of Mediation in Africa as a means of attracting foreign direct investments, promoting the knowledge base of their members and promoting rule of law and effective administration of justice in Africa.
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Chief Obegolu, SAN who is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Chambers of Commerce Dispute Resolution Centre made this call in Dakar, Senegal on the 11th of May, 2022, during the Mediation in Africa Conference organized by the German Agency for International Corporation (GIZ), the German Foundation for International Legal Corporation (IRZ) and the German Federal Bar.
Chief Obegolu posited that while awareness about Mediation is on the rise on the continent, the Bar Associations still has enormous responsibility in entrenching the practice in Africa. He identified some of the role of Bar Associations as continuing professional development, legislative advocacy for domestication of the UNCITRAL model mediation law and other legislative enablement’s, Reform advocacy for legal education, collaboration with mediation centres, collaboration with Chambers of Commerce, Reform of Rules of court, Advocacy for establishment of court connected ADR Centres, etc.
The PALU president brought the audience up to date with the developments in Nigeria including the Supreme Court Mediation Centre, the Court of Appeal Mediation Centre, the National Industrial Court Mediation Centre and the over 25 States Multi Door courts, including the Federal High Court ADR Centre.
On training and certification of Mediators, Chief Obegolu who is a past President of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators also briefed the conference on the capacity in Nigeria and the over ten thousand qualified mediators under the auspices of ICMC in Nigeria.
The organizers thanked Chief Obegolu, SAN and commended the giant strides Nigeria is making in the practice of mediation. They commended other African countries to learn from the experience of Nigeria and see what lessons can support their efforts.
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