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(NIGERIA)    
Kwara Govt to Train Lawyers, Judges
The Kwara State Government has concluded arrangements to train 20 lawyers and two high court judges at the newly established Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Alhaji Saka Isau (SAN), the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney- General, disclosed this at a press briefing in Ilorin.

He said that the training, which would start on Wednesday, was part of the judiciary reform programmes. He said that the Centre, through the adoption of mediation processes, would facilitate quick dispensation of justice and disputes' resolution. Isau said that cases that would be handled by the Centre included landlord/tenant disputes, employer/employee disputes and family disagreements.

The Attorney-General said that the centre was established to provide free mediation services on the various kinds of disputes among the people of the state. He said that when the Centre became fully operational, it would equally mediate on cases from individuals or those referred to it by non-governmental organizations. Saying that disputes were an inevitable part of human interaction, Isau noted that the resolution of disputes through litigations had become time-consuming, expensive and cumbersome.

``The increase in the number of cases in the courts has also led to congestion and delay of justice,'' he said. ``Some disputes are so sensitive and confidential in nature that the litigants may prefer settlement in private, rather than through the court,'' he added. The Commissioner noted that the role of the judiciary in the Centre was for the endorsement of the Memorandum of Understanding or terms of settlement, reached by the parties at the end of the mediation. Isau stressed that such endorsement by the court was aimed at making the terms of settlement binding on the parties.



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