Kumasi: Ahead of the celebration of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Week, the Judicial Service of Ghana has lined up a series of engagements with the business community in Kumasi. The initiative dubbed, 'Pre-ADR Week' seeks to sensitise potential users of court processes in settling disputes to embrace ADR as an option for expeditious resolution of cases.

According to Ghana News Agency, this year's ADR Week celebration, scheduled for March 17 - 21, is themed 'Building the Pillars of Justice through Commercial Justice ADR'. The Pre-ADR Week engagements, which focus on commercial cases this year, aim to draw the attention of businesses to the advantages of utilizing ADR for the resolution of disputes ahead of the main event.

Since its introduction into the justice delivery system in 2005, ADR has successfully resolved 38,447 cases out of 88,451 cases, representing 43 percent. Justice Mrs. Angelina Mensah-Homiah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal with oversight responsibility for ADR, emphasized the benefits of adjudicating cases through ADR at a media briefing ahead of an engagement with Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Farmers and Marketing Union Limited.

Justice Mensah-Homiah noted that resolving cases through means other than litigation brings faster finality to cases compared to the traditional court processes, which are overwhelmed with numerous cases. She highlighted that ADR not only ensures the expeditious conclusion of cases but also saves the parties involved both time and money.

She further elaborated, 'Having commercial cases in court for years hurts businesses and negatively impacts economic stability. If people in the business community get to know that this option other than litigation is available for free by the Judicial Service, I believe they will readily embrace and take advantage of it.'

Justice Hannah Taylor, Supervising High Court Judge for Ashanti Region, echoed the sentiment, stating that opting for ADR is a viable solution to ease the pressure on Presiding Judges, given the extensive list of pending cases. She reiterated that ADR saves time and money, which are vital resources that could be conserved on cases that could be resolved faster at virtually no cost.