BY ISHARO ODAFE
THE Delta State Ministry of Justice has reaffirmed its commitment to expand access to justice through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, stated this while declaring open a one- day capacity building training organized by the Department of People’s Rights, with the theme:” Conflict Dynamics, the Mediation Process, Communication, Negotiation and Ethical Considerations in the Legal Profession “.
Ohwovoriole explained that the training was aimed at sharpening the understanding of legal practitioners on how conflicts can be resolved through peaceful and non-adversarial means like mediation and negotiation.
He added that the session provided an in-depth overview of the ADR policy, enabling participants to develop better communication and negotiation skills and to equip participants on how to handle disputes in a way that promotes peace, justice and fairness. Also speaking during the training, the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Omamuzo Erebe, who took the participants on conflict dynamics, the mediation process, communication, negotiation, and ethical on side ration in the legal profession, stressed the important roles of communication breakdown in the mediation process.
In her lecture on the training, a Revenue Court Judge, Delta State Judiciary, and an ardent ADR practitioner, Julia Utulu, discussed the mediation process, stages of mediation and ethics of mediation.
She stressed that mediation and negotiation had yielded a very positive impact on peaceful co-existence among people, adding that for any person to be a good mediator, he or she must have certain qualities – good information manager, honest, impartial, neutral, and respectful and more importantly, exercise confidentiality throughout the dispute settlement process.
