Lagos trains judges on arbitration, ADR

L-RL Partner of White & Case LLP and ISLP Volunteer, Charles Nairac, 

Hon. Justice (Mrs) R. Adebiyi, Hon. Justice (Mrs) F. Atilade; President 

of Lagos Court of Arbitration, Babajide Ogundipe  and Executive Secretary/CEO

 Lagos Court of Arbitration, Megha Joshi, at the Lagos Court of Arbitration

Judges Training, organised for Lagos State Judges, recently.

As part of efforts at expediently administering justice, the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA) has concluded a two-day workshop for the State Judges on arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in Nigeria.
 

The workshop which dwelt on “The role of Judges in the ADR Process,” the training focused on the invaluable benefits of commercial arbitration and mediation in dispute resolution as opposed to litigation which is the commonly used method in the country. 

President of the LCA, Mr. Babajide Ogundipe, noted there is a strong need to promote arbitration in Nigeria given the current situation the Court find itself and the number of years it takes to conclude cases in Nigerian Courts.

Ogundipe also said that LCA is committed to support and promote alternative dispute resolution through the use of the Lagos Court of Arbitration by aggrieved parties.

“The LCA fuels faster resolution of disputes, minimizes to the highest level the amount of time spent on ensuring dispute resolution and that all concerned parties are satisfied with the judgment by the panel of arbitrators,” Ogundipe said.

Mr. Charles Nairac of White and Case, in his contribution, expressed confidence with LAC and its objectives in fast-tracking the judicial dispensation, mostly in the commercial centre of Nigeria, Lagos.

“I am very impressed with the Lagos Arbitration Law and optimistic about the future of the LCA. It is encouraging to see such enthusiasm from the Judiciary in supporting arbitration and their passionate debates surrounding it,” he said.

Participants at the training were in tandem that the judiciary had been over flooded over the years with lots of cases that ordinarily should have been referred to arbitration, but the ignorance of its existence and absence of competent institutions by stakeholders led to the current situation facing the Justice system where cases can drag on for up to 10 years.

One of the participants was reported as declaring excitement over the steps taken so far by the Lagos Court of Arbitration, saying that the Law is now being practiced even though it has been in existence for a while.

“With the LCA, I am certain that all Nigerians, including corporate organizations and multinationals will begin to experience speedy resolution in disputes when using its services. I urge everyone to use alternative dispute resolution in reaching settlements for commercial disputes,” a participant said.

DigitalSENSEBusiness News recollects that LCA’s main focus is to promote the use of arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and in recent times concluded series of trainings in Lagos for members of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LACIMI) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The latest workshop sessions were led by Fellows at the Chartered institute of Arbitrators, Board Members of the LCA and White and Case as well as the International Senior Lawyers Project.

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