The Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR Centre) and the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) have agreed to strengthen collaboration to promote ADR and facilitate the effective resolution of disputes in the land, construction and other technical sectors.
The partnership will provide a platform for the two institutions to leverage their respective expertise to expand the use of ADR, particularly in the resolution of specialised disputes requiring technical knowledge and professional expertise.
The understanding was reached when the leadership of the ADR Centre, led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Mr Kwesi Austin, paid a courtesy call on the executive of the GhIS in Accra on Monday as part of the Centre’s stakeholder engagements to explore areas of collaboration.
President of the GhIS, Surv. Emmanuel Kofi Cobbold, said the Institution was committed to supporting the development of ADR and was ready to make its technical expertise available to help resolve the increasing number of land and construction disputes in the country.
He said the GhIS had, over the years, recognised the potential of ADR in addressing disputes within the sector and had consequently established an ADR unit to facilitate the resolution of land and construction-related cases.
“We have been doing well in using our unit to resolve land and construction-related cases, and we are sure that we can do better once we come under the national ADR umbrella,” he said.
Surv. Cobbold explained that the Institution had previously collaborated with the Judicial Service, resulting in about 40 surveyors being trained to serve as court mediators.
However, he said the low allowances paid to court mediators had discouraged many of the trained professionals from continuing with the programme, resulting in a high turnover and leaving only a few of them actively participating.
He therefore called for improved remuneration and logistical support for court mediators, including appropriate office facilities at the courts, to attract and retain more professionals with specialised knowledge in the court-connected ADR programme.
According to him, the participation of professionals with technical expertise would enhance the ability of the justice system to deal effectively with specialised disputes involving land, construction, engineering, surveying and accounting.
Surv. Cobbold expressed the Institution’s enthusiasm about the establishment of the national ADR Centre, saying the GhIS viewed the Centre as an important platform for coordinating and strengthening ADR practice in Ghana.
He assured the ADR Centre of the Institution’s readiness to contribute technical expertise towards reducing the high incidence of litigation, particularly in the land and construction sectors.
Mr Kwesi Austin, Chairman of the Governing Board of the ADR Centre, commended the GhIS for establishing and operating an ADR unit, describing it as an example of the important role professional bodies could play in promoting the adoption of ADR.
He said the Centre was committed to working closely with the GhIS to strengthen its ADR activities and create greater opportunities for members of the Institution to contribute their professional expertise to dispute resolution.
“We can work together to project ADR as the core platform for resolving disputes in the land and construction sector,” he said.
Mr Austin said the Centre’s broader objective was to work with stakeholder institutions to promote ADR and help reduce the growing reliance on litigation as the primary means of resolving disputes.
He also appealed to the Judicial Service to consider concerns about the low allowances paid to court mediators and explore measures to improve remuneration for professionals participating in the court-connected ADR programme.
The Executive Secretary of the ADR Centre, Dr Francis Kofi Korankye-Sakyi, said the Centre would pursue its mandate of standardising ADR practice through a number of interventions, including the development of an appropriate fee structure and rules governing mediation and arbitration.
He said the Centre was also considering a review of the scope of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), to incorporate other ADR mechanisms that were not adequately covered by the existing legislation.
Dr Korankye-Sakyi disclosed that the Centre was in the process of preparing a Legislative Instrument for consideration by Parliament to give effect to the ADR Act.
He stressed that the proposed Legislative Instrument would be developed through broad consultations with relevant stakeholders to ensure that it reflected the needs and realities of ADR practice in Ghana.
He said such interventions would contribute to the Centre’s medium- to long-term objective of strengthening the use of ADR, including exploring mechanisms that could make ADR a more integral part of the dispute resolution process before matters proceed through prolonged litigation.
Justice Nicco-Annan, the GhIS representative on the Governing Board of the ADR Centre, expressed optimism that the partnership would yield significant benefits for both institutions and the wider justice system.
He said the collaboration would provide members of the GhIS with a broader platform to deploy their technical expertise in the resolution of specialised disputes, particularly those involving land and construction.
