The Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) has called for improved remuneration for mediators, particularly court-connected mediators, to attract more specialised professionals into the court-connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programme.
The Institution said the inclusion of professionals with specialised technical knowledge would strengthen the resolution of complex disputes, particularly those involving land, construction, engineering and accounting, where technical expertise is often required.
The President of the GhIS, Surv. Emmanuel Kofi Cobbold, made the call when the leadership of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADRC) 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 partnership and collaboration.
Surv. Cobbold explained that several years ago, about 40 members of the Institution were trained by the Judicial Service to serve as court mediators.
However, he said, following their training and subsequent deployment as part-time court mediators, many of the surveyors became discouraged by the relatively low allowances paid for mediation services.
This, he said, contributed to a high turnover among the trained professionals, with only a few continuing to participate in the court-connected mediation programme.
He noted that without improved remuneration and adequate resources, including appropriate office and mediation facilities at the courts, it would be difficult to attract and retain more professionals in public-sector ADR practice.
Despite the challenge, Surv. Cobbold said the GhIS remained committed to ADR and had subsequently established its own ADR unit to facilitate the resolution of disputes, particularly those relating to land and construction.
He said the Institution was excited about the establishment of the national ADR Centre and expressed the GhIS’s readiness to contribute its technical expertise towards resolving disputes and reducing the incidence of land and construction litigation.
“We have been doing well in using our unit to resolve these 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 also expressed optimism that the remuneration challenges facing ADR practitioners could be addressed following the establishment of the national ADR Centre.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of the ADR Centre, Mr Kwesi Austin, who led the delegation, commended the GhIS for operating what he described as one of the successful ADR units established by a professional body in the country.
He said the initiative demonstrated the important role professional associations could play in promoting the adoption of ADR in specialised areas of dispute resolution.
Mr Austin assured the GhIS of the Centre’s support to strengthen the work of its ADR unit, including through training and other interventions.
He said the Centre was committed to partnering the GhIS to advance ADR and mobilise stakeholder institutions to help reduce the high incidence of litigation.
“We can work together to project ADR as the core platform for resolving disputes in the land and construction sector,” he said.
On the issue of remuneration for court mediators, Mr Austin urged the Judicial Service to give consideration to concerns over the low allowances paid to mediators and explore measures to enhance them.
Dr Francis Kofi Korankye-Sakyi, Executive Secretary of the ADR Centre, indicated that the Centre would pursue its mandate of standardising ADR practice through a range of interventions.
These, he said, would include the introduction of a fee structure, rules governing mediation and arbitration, as well as a possible review of the scope of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), to accommodate ADR mechanisms not currently covered by the legislation.
He disclosed that the Centre was also preparing a Legislative Instrument for consideration by Parliament to give effect to the ADR Act, adding that the proposed L.I. would be developed through broad consultations with relevant stakeholders to ensure that it reflected the needs of the ADR sector.
He said the initiatives would contribute to the Centre’s objective of promoting mandatory ADR processes for civil disputes, without which such cases cannot proceed to full court litigation, citing practices in jurisdictions such as Canada.
Justice Nicco-Annan, the GhIS representative on the Governing Board of the ADR Centre, expressed optimism that the partnership between the two institutions would yield significant benefits.
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 in the land and construction sectors.
The Vice President of the GhIS, Surv. Agyemang Badu, described the establishment of the ADR Centre as long overdue and expressed the Institution’s commitment to building a strong partnership and collaboration with the Centre.
The stakeholder engagement formed part of the ADR Centre’s broader consultations with professional bodies and other institutions to strengthen collaboration and promote the wider use of ADR in Ghana.
