From FAUSTINE KAPAMA-Tanzania Judiciary in Kampala
THE two-day Africa Judiciaries’ Summit on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which was being held here starting March 5, 2024, has been concluded today dated March 6, 2024 with deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Republic of Uganda, Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, officiating the memorable even.
On the last day of the Summit, which was attended by about 300 delegates from different countries, the Chief Justices of Africa Judiciaries came up with several resolutions in order to strengthen the role of judiciaries in promoting the use and application of ADR in Africa for successful settlement of disputes.
Some of the resolutions includes encouraging the Chief Justices to lead reform initiatives to promote ADR, call upon judiciaries in Africa to support the regular convening of Africa Chief Justices Summit on ADR and advocate for African government to budget and allocate sufficient funds to support the promotion of alternative dispute resolution.
They also resolved to encourage Chief Justices to appoint ADR focal persons in their respective countries to act as lead for contact persons for ADR, who will be tasked to facilitate the implementation resolution arising from the Africa Chief Justices Summit on ADR and call upon judiciaries to study alternative justice systems with view of assessing the overall impartibility to promote access to justice.
The Chief Justices called upon each jurisdiction to adopt ADR week as means of building awareness processes and enhance the capacity of ADR stakeholders as means of building public trust and advocate for revision of the legal education including the review of legal school syllabus to facilitate the development and application of ADR.
They recommended the collaboration and continue the engagement between ADR centres and institutes across the continent and advocate for the revision or enactment of ADR laws and guidelines that promote the use, adoption, recognition and enforcement of ADR processes and outcomes.
The Chief Justices further recommended the establishment of recognition system where ADR Practitioners are awarded for their accomplishment and advocate for enhanced training on capacity building for ADR practitioners. They pointed out that countries that have effectively blessed alternative dispute resolution should be contacted to support other countries to exchange knowledge.
They also resolved to put in place infrastructure within the judiciaries to support ADR such as creating an ADR Registry with judges and registrars, recommend that online dispute resolution mechanism should be embraced and advocate the acknowledgment and respect of African cultures in dispute resolutions.
During the Summit, His Lordship, Prof. Juma was accompanied by the Judge in Charge of the High Court of Tanzania, Mediation Center, Hon. Zahra Maruma and High Court Judge from the Centre, Hon. Isaya Arufani.
Other judicial leaders were Personal Assistant to the Chief Justice of Tanzania, Hon. Venance Mlingi, Deputy Registrar of the High Court Mediation Center, Hon. Augustina Mmbando and Protocol Officer, Mr. Juma Mshana.
The meeting brought together Judges, Private Sector Actors, Independent Lawyers, Scholars and Prosecutors has been organized by the Judiciary of Uganda in collaboration with Pepperdine University in California, USA. The theme of the Summit was Re-engineering the Administration of Justice on the African Continent.
The Chief Justice of Tanzania, His Lordship Prof. Ibrahim Hamis Juma signing the resolutions that were adopted by the Chief Justices from Africa at the end of Africa Judiciaries’ Summit on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which was being held in Kampala, Uganda.
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