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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Judiciary has announced an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Week. The event from August 5th to 9th, aims to resolve pending cases through mediation and negotiation, promoting a more efficient and people-centered justice system.
While addressing the media at the Judiciary Headquarters in Kampala on Thursday, the Court of Appeal Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire accompanied by Acting Chief Registrar Rosemary Bareebe, highlighted the importance of the Week in resolving pending cases through mediation and negotiation.
“The ADR Week is a new process aimed at making the justice system more people-centered and efficient. We want to resolve disputes quickly and efficiently, reducing the time and resources spent on litigation”, said Kiryabwire.
Justice Kiryabwire a member of the ADR Committee who was representing the Chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera noted that the Judiciary has been working to address concerns over the handling of cases, including low disposal rates and delays, and that they want to see justice served efficiently and effectively.
The ADR Week will involve the Court of Appeal, Constitutional Court, High Court circuits, and Chief Magistrates Courts. Justice Kiryabwire emphasized that the event is voluntary, and parties can express interest in participating. He however revealed that there are some cases that they have selected to be handled during the ADR Week.
He stated that the Judiciary has trained a team of 75 accredited professional mediators to assist in the settlement process. He said the ADR Week aims to provide a platform for parties to resolve disputes through mediation and negotiation, reducing the need for lengthy and costly litigation.
According to Justice Kiryabwire, in June 2023, the Judiciary created the Alternative Justice Strategy, which he wants everyone to be comfortable with because it creates a new avenue of dispute resolution. He says the system of involving lawyers and appealing, among others is tedious, and as a result, the Judiciary decided to open a new door of mediation.
According to Kiryabwire, a litigant may fail in mediation but needs someone to negotiate on their behalf, and to address such a problem, they have provided people who can help with the settlement of the disputes. He adds that although they have been doing it at a small scale, there are plans to roll it out at the national level.
He said that in 2023, thousands of cases were handled using plea bargaining, which has reduced the time someone has to spend on remand, and the ratio of convicts to prisons, hence making criminal justice efficient.
He explained the advantages of the Alternative Dispute Resolution is that they want shorter periods for concluding some of the cases instead of taking longer in the Justice system.
According to the Judiciary, it has been observed that in mediation, there is a higher satisfaction rate compared to judgments where a loser goes when he is not happy at all.
The Acting Chief Registrar Rose Bareebe said that some of the activities during the week will include case identification, allocation to mediators, and evaluation. She encouraged advocates to sign up their matters and invited courts outside Kampala to participate.
She asked all court users and the Uganda Law Society-ULS to embrace the mediation system to solve the problem of stalled cases.
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