Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, said
yesterday that the judicial system is not designed to ensure
peace.
Justice Onnoghen said this while sharing his thoughts on
judicial policy towards arbitration and Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) at the ongoing 2018 Annual Conference and Gala
Nite of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Nigeria
Branch.
During the interactive session anchored by former Attorney
General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo, the CJN said, “Having
experienced both sides of formal court system and the traditional
arbitration, I can assure you and I want you to know that the
judicial system is not designed to ensure peace. If you want peace,
don’t go to courts.”
He added that this was because in courts “you are either right
or wrong. We determine the rights, liabilities and responsibilities
of parties. It is not designed to ensure peace.”
However, when parties go into arbitration or settlement outside
of courts, Justice Onnoghen said with “no formalities, you are free
and when you are free, there is understanding, which in turn can
guarantee a win-win resolution.”
On perceived inefficiency of the courts to judiciously and
timeously resolve commercial disputes, the CJN said, “It is not
correct that the system is inefficient”, adding that a major
challenge include lack of honesty on the parts of parties that
approach the court for adjudication.
The Chairman of the CIArb Nigeria branch, Mrs. Adedoyin
Rhodes-Vivour on her part said arbitration and the ADR mechanisms
were not meant to rival the court system but to complement it. She
said instead “they are partners in justice delivery”, stressing
that with more people participating in the arbitration process, the
court dockets would be decongested.
The Minister of Justice and AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the
President of CIArb (UK), James Bridgeman (SC) in their addresses
charged Nigerians to explore the gains of arbitration and ADR
mechanisms in their dispute resolutions.
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