Sub-saharan leaders meet in Nairobi over justice system transformation

NAIROBI, KENYA: Senior Government officials, Judges, lawyers and business leaders from the East African region will be meeting in Nairobi next week to discuss how to transform the justice system with a key emphasis on raising the practice of alternative dispute resolution.

The two-day conference themed “ADR and Rule of Law for East African Prosperity will be held on September 25 – 26, 2014 at the Windsor Golf Hotel. The event is being organised by NCMG International and the Kenya Judiciary Training Institute (JTI) in partnership with Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), Chartered Institute of Arbitration, Kenya, and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) among others.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Justice James Ogoola, Judge East African Court of Justice and Regional Chairman NCMG International – East Africa said access to justice remains a key indicator to development of any country globally and a major challenge for developing countries particularly in Africa.

“It is also a major challenge for attraction of much needed foreign direct investment required to resolve infrastructural challenges.  It is not surprising therefore that many  developing  countries  are  giving  priority to judicial  reform  as a necessary precondition  for  encouraging  new  investment.  Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system can play a big role in reducing the backlog of cases within the litigation dockets of the court,” he said.

Some of the benefits of ADR include access to Justice for all, reduction in the case dockets of Judges, speedy resolution of disputes, reduction in the cost of resolving disputes, encouragement resolutions suited to parties needs, public satisfaction with the justice system and restoration of pre-dispute relationships among others.

Justice Ogoola noted that the face of Justice worldwide is fast evolving and judicial service systems must evolve to be able to keep up with the pace of a swiftly expanding global village in which speed, increasingly complex technicalities and specialization are a constant challenge.

Some of the key speakers expected at the event are Kenya’s Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Uwais (Rtd), Former Chief Justice of Nigeria & Global Chairman, NCMG International, Justice James Ogoola, Judge East African Court of Justice and Regional Chairman NCMG International – East Africa.

The East African ADR Summit is designed to bring together over 150 professionals, key players and lead thinkers in various fields including ADR to find solutions to the various economic, social and political challenges of the region. The conference will attract professionals, lawyers, judges, politicians, investors and other economic stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.