First Settlement Week of Judiciary Multi-door Courthouse holds in Edo

The First Settlement Week of Judiciary Multi-Door Courthouse held in Edo State on Monday. Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC), Paschal Ugbome, at the First Settlement Week of Edo State Judiciary Multi-Door Courthouse, considered it great pleasure and an honour to deliver a goodwill message on the auspicious occasion of the First Settlement Week of Edo State Judiciary Multi-Door Court House.

Ugbome, on behalf of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, congratulated the state judiciary for organizing the first Settlement Week. “This is epochal as well as groundbreaking,” he said.

Ugbome said that the ICMC is the foremost Professional Institute that is saddled with the management of the Practice of Mediation and Conciliation in Nigeria, including the responsibility of training and continuous education of Mediation and Conciliation Practitioners. He noted that the branch of the ICMC in Edo State is about one year old.

“The rising profile of ADR in different Legal Systems of the world coupled with the establishment of multi-door Court House in many States in Nigeria, the establishment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria Mediation Centre, Federal High Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, the Court of Appeal Mediation Program is an indication that ADR plays a pivotal role in effective justice delivery. It is also an indication that ADR can potentially strengthen the judiciary in expanding the frontiers of dispute resolution as a way of promoting peace and harmony in the Society, Ugbome declared.

He was of the view that the 21st Century Lawyers who are ADR compliant wear many caps so as to become multidimensional service providers. He noted that the mores of justice are best met when the judiciary is dynamic, possessed of a strong institutional framework and when it is attuned to the peculiar needs of the general public as a whole.

“ADR is there to minimize citizens frustration. It supplements Litigation. Court connected ADR Centres, therefore, serve as a means of decongesting Court Dockets. The end result is the easy access to justice and a reduction in frustration or emotional strain associated with Litigation.

“The settlement Week demonstrate and exemplify the several benefits which abound when parties explore opportunities in ADR, Ugbome declared.

He said that the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) is open to all. “It has three levels of membership which are Associate, Member and Fellow. I am pleased to note that most of our distinguished Judges as well as members of the Bar are members of ICMC.

“I have no doubt that this settlement Week will achieve it’s much desired aim of clearing the backlog of Cases, create a platform for interaction amongst the major stake holders on the real benefit of engaging in ADR.

Congratulations to the Edo State Judiciary,” the ICMC chairman said.