DIALOGUE, THE WAY FORWARD (DECEMBER 22, 2009)

CONFLICTS have reduced many communities and countries to rubbles because the parties in such disputes have chosen the path of war instead of jaw-jaw.
In our country, the development processes have stalled or slowed down because of protracted chieftaincy and land disputes.
Indeed, our justice system is too adversarial to give room for people to dialogue in order to find amicable solutions to their differences.
On many occasions, the court platforms look like battlegrounds where the victor should not give any breathing space to the vanquished. In the end, the system does not necessarily make room for offenders to accept their guilt, heal wounds and build bridges for peaceful co-existence.
The call, therefore, by a member of the National Peace Council (NPC), the Most Rev Francis Lodonu, for more dialogue in addressing conflicts offers the best way forward in building a united society.
As he put it, “The judiciary alone does not hold the key to resolving conflicts in the country.”
He observed that the recourse to the courts to resolve conflicts might appear to be the most obvious option but not necessarily the most effective.
The Most Rev Lodonu must have stated the obvious because even the Judiciary has recognised that the court system alone may not hold the key to justice delivery, hence the decision of the Judicial Service to promote the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in the country.
The managers of the justice system may be doing their best to encourage out-of-court settlements in order to free the judicial system from petty criminal offences, otherwise referred to as misdemeanours, so that the courts can have time to deal with violent criminals and serious offenders in the system.
The campaign to promote ADR has been ongoing for some time now, except that progress is slow to make the necessary impact in the justice system.
The DAILY GRAPHIC thinks that the time has come for all stakeholders to get down to brass tacks so that contending parties can be encouraged to settle many cases out of court.
But for this process to achieve the desired result, it is important for the Judiciary to recognise the importance of ADR in resolving the bottlenecks in the system.
Some of our justices still impose heavy fines and penalties for petty crimes such as stealing of farm produce, assault and some driving offences.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that if the court system allows for dialogue and ADR for the resolution of disputes in society, the delays in the adjudication of justice will be a thing of the past, while our prisons will be decongested.
Reports abound of accused persons who have been on remand for years because of non-trial arising out of unnecessary adjournments, inadequate legal brains in the system and loss of dockets.
The time has come for all of us to think outside the box so that we can find a more effective and efficient way of resolving conflicts. For, it is said that justice delayed is justice denied.
Also, aggrieved persons who do not seek opportunities or windows for justice will seek solace in conflicts, thereby making society insecure and unsafe for law- abiding citizens to carry out their legitimate businesses.