A legal practitioner, Mr. Valentino Buoro has said that the Nigerian Judiciary has been doing so much to create awareness about the existence of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as an alternative to litigation.
Buoro who was speaking in Lagos recently observed that that was why the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmoud Mohammed directed all the Chief Judges of the various states to set up Multi-Door Court Houses in their various states in order for justice delivery to be faster and at a lesser cost.
“As we speak, there are not less than 16 states that have Multi-Door Court Houses and there are certain directions that Judges should encourage out of court settlement. So, it has always been there.
“But I think that one of the greatest stakeholders that can influence this is the lawyers even in our own legal practitioners directives, we are also enjoined to let our clients know about ADR but where the lawyers themselves at the first level for fear of whatever, refuse to go to ADR and decide to go to court, the Judge has an option to advice that they should go to ADR or to continue the case because his own is to judge”, he said.
He however said that people were not aware of the successes recorded so far through mediation because the processes were confidential and were not supposed to be discussed openly describing it as one of the drawbacks for that process of dispute resolution.
In his words,” You know in the court, whatever happens in the court, we have what is called Law Reports where lawyers will read how it was settled and follow that line or cite it in trials. In mediation, you cannot do it. I am a mediator, I settle cases twice every week with the Citizens Mediation Centre, I have so much information but I cannot publish them in my write-ups”.
Buoro who is also a maritime journalist added that he was considering having a greater presence alongside his team at the nation’s maritime sector where they might be able to strategically talk to people on the usefulness of mediation as a faster and cheaper way of settling disputes.
He continues,” Like mediation can be used for debt recovery, it can be used for landlord and tenant matters, it can be used for inheritance matters and all that.
“If we are within the industry as regular as we can and then you have a landlord issue and then you come to me and I take you to mediation and you experience it, you are most likely to want to say, ah! That thing worked for me in the landlord and tenant matter, let me try it in maritime. So, I am looking at a situation of working closer with the maritime industry not only on maritime disputes but any dispute where mediation can be used and then you get it resolved. You find out that the same technique with which this was applied can be resolved”.
Send your news, press releases/articles to info@primetimereporters.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @reportersinfo and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.
