Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d
Gusau
A Nongovernmental Organization, International Alert has supported passage of the Dispute Resolution Centre Bill in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto States with a view to fast tracking and resolving cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and decongest cases in conventional courts.
Programme Manager, International Alert, Mr. Sunday Jimoh Momoh gave the advice today at the closing ceremony of a training organized by the organization for judicial stakeholders selected from the three targeted states on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as part of it’s supportive collaboration with the State Assemblies to establish an ADR Centre.
The initiative was aimed to provide a faster, more affordable way to resolve disputes than conventional court proceedings, which are often slow and congested. The training and the establishment of the center will improve access to justice for all citizens, especially vulnerable groups.
In attendance of the training which was rounded up on Monday, were the Judges, Mediators, Community leaders, ADR staffers and psychosocial teams from the targeted states trained for learning strategies for fast and effective cases handling in the multi courthouse.
In his opening remarks during the workshop organized by the International Alert held at Ja’iz hotel, the Programme Manager, Sunday Jimoh Momoh who was represented by the Project Officer, Stephen John, said the meeting was aimed to ensure consistency and standardization across ADR processes.
Momoh further opined that, the expectations for the training is to enhance access for members of communities to justice and reduce court backlog as well as strengthening collaboration between courts, ADR Čentre, and communities.
He further disclosed that, when fully established, it would serve to providing clear workflows and timelines for case handling by the ADR staffers who are expected to amicably resolve cases filed in by the disputing parties.
“This explains how ADR performance will be measured, monitored, and improved through regular reporting, audits, stakeholder reviews, and compliance checks, and Include monitoring mechanisms, performance indicators, and reporting structures in the state Standard Operational Procedures (SOP).
In a goodwill message, Director Legal Services Zamfara State House of Assembly, barrister Bello Aliyu Gummi, who spoke on behalf of the participating Houses of Assembly from the 3 targeted states, has commended International Alert for it’s financial support from the cradle of passing the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre and the learning visits on courthouse.
Participants from the three selected states have expressed satisfaction with the use of establishment of courthouse in solving cases in an amicable way without having feuds between the complainants. They unanimously assured promoting ADR in their respective states.
