Federal High Court commissions Alternative Dispute Resolution center

The Federal High Court (FHC) has commissioned an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Center to help the court in the determination of cases with arbitration clauses in their agreements which were explored before parties rushed to court.

The development is targeted at reducing the busy dockets of the court with a positive impact on the overall administration of justice, particularly the Federal High Court.

The Chief Judge of the court, Justice Abdu Kafarati, who commissioned the centre on Friday had earlier embarked on the constitution of various committees to review the FHC Civil Procedure Rules 2009.

“I have in the life of this administration, also taken very strong steps to strengthen our criminal justice system by issuing statutory instruments which facilitated the prosecution and decongestion of the over-bloated Kainji detention camps thereby convicting those who had hands in various security breaches in the Northeast and releasing so many who were wrongly detained in the camp,” Justice Kafarati said.

While urging legal practitioners and parties to key into the means of dispute resolution devoid of technicalities of law, he also appealed to practitioners not to turn the Centre to a regular court because by doing so, the aim of creating the Centre would be defeated.

Joe Kyari Gadzama (SAN), in his remarks at the unveiling, expressed on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, United Kingdom chapter (CIArbUK) lauded the federal high court for the feat which he said meant that Arbitration and ADR have come to stay in this part of the world.

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He said: “There is a market for ADR cases and there will be a needed intervention in the courts and of all the courts in the country, the Federal High Court plays a pivotal role. This is a court connection Centre and we will come here for meetings, training and also faculty members who will like to learn what is being done here.”

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also advised the incoming CJ of the Court, to develop and sustain the ADR centre of the court.

Gadzama, while speaking with newsmen shortly after the commissioning of the FHC ADR Centre noted that ADR had become a potent tool of decongesting the courts, due to the frustration occasioned by endless litigation.

“I believe the incoming Chief Judge of the Federal High Court will continue to develop and enhance the ADR centre.

“We are aware that any moment from now, the outgoing Chief Judge of the FHC will be taking a bow, and that presupposes that somebody will be coming. We believe that it is going to be an effortless, seamless and straightforward process,” Gadzama noted.

It would be recalled that the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), had last month nominated Justice John Tsoho, the next most senior judge of the Federal High Court, to the National Judicial Council (NJC), to succeed Justice Kafarati who will be retiring this month from the bench.

The SAN lauded Justice Kafarati for his innovative leadership of the court, saying, “the outgoing CJ has written his name in gold.”