The Kaduna State Government has tasked residents on the need to explore alternative disputes resolution mechanisms available in the state as against litigation.
Ruth Wana, a dispute resolution officer at the state Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) Centre made the call in Kafanchan.
Wana was speaking at a sensitisation on reforms and services of the Kaduna State Multi-Door Court House/ADR Centre.
According to her, creating awareness has become necessary because people are not making adequate use of the ADR centre in the state.
She added that litigation was time consuming, cumbersome, expensive and ruins relationships.
“ADR is the process of resolving civil or commercial disputes without resorting to litigation. Litigation can be very expensive, cumbersome and time consuming.
“And because of these factors, civil or commercial cases in Nigeria can take several years to be resolved.
“We are not saying litigation is bad, but what we are saying is that people have other options apart from just litigation.
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“These ADR options prevent acrimony and allow parties to understand each other’s position and craft out their own solution,” she added.
She said the Kaduna State Multi-Door Court House was established by law to provide ADR services and encourage parties to first explore amicable resolution of conflicts.
“We have legal backing for ADR in Kaduna State and it has been included in the civil procedure rules.
“So, the law recognizes it and we should know we are doing something legal when we opt for ADR.
“We need our judges to focus on handling constitutional and criminal matters, while we resolve other issues through ADR,” Wana said.
The dispute resolution officer highlighted the benefits of ADR to include flexibility, speedy resolution of disputes, and reduction in case dockets of judges and time efficiency among others.
She noted that the ADR centre offers a variety of platforms for resolving disputes among which are counseling, mediation, negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, ombudsman and judicial appraisal.
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