It is commendable that I-ADRNigeria is joining the league of quite a number of ADR bodies and organisations established to promote effective and efficient conflict resolution methods and to compliment the court systems. I’m happy that Milords are here and they appreciate the roles that ADR bodies are playing in complementing the court system in the administration of justice.
My prayer is that with this initiative of the establishment of I-ADRNigeria the relevance of I-ADR will not be lost in the dispensation of justice and I’m sure it will be a true addition and a true compliment to the administration of justice in Nigeria.
As professionals of ADR Council members must:
- Dedicated to the ideals that will meet global best practices in ADR. As professionals in ADR they must continue to innovate, collaborate for the benefit of ADR to the local and international communities.
- They must be neutral, independent and transparent without any bias at all times to win, earn and maintain the trust of the users in the ADR sphere. They should create a panel of neutrals that consist of people with untainted character; people with undoubted judicial minds that will not shy away from being frank and truthful at any cost. It is only by speaking the truth that the users will continue to refer their dispute to 1-ADRNigeria and that is how i-ADR can truly grow.
- The issue of conflict of interest must be mentioned. Though its only your friends that can refer you for an arbitration but if that relationship is close enough you have to disclose no matter how attractive it sounds. Integrity is paramount. You should be able to walk away in the interest of justice and to maintain your integrity. The cure to conflict of interest is disclosure.
- I will also urge the council members to encourage and imbibe the culture of collaboration with ADR bodies that have sterling record and then you can rub off on them and with time the mere mention of I-ADR will depict sterling quality and standard such that people will not even ask you how much knowledge you have; just the mere mention of I-ADR certification, people will know that you are the intelligent. So, I-ADR should imbibe all the quality and standard by which reputable institutions are measured.
- I will urge I-ADR to establish I-ADR arbitration rules for use in both domestic, international and ad-hoc arbitration. It governs how the administrative process is administered. There is no need to reinvent the rules. You can check other institution rules to reflect on how the I-ADR rules will be formulated.
- There is also the need to formulate the I-ADR mediation rules. Have model contract clauses that can be used to specify the chosen dispute resolution in commercial processes because there can be no dispute resolution method without the clause. Members should be given your dispute resolution templates either in your rules or pamphlets so that people can take it and use for future disputes.
- I-ADR should establish a code of ethical conduct to regulate your members. Erring members can be reported to you for disciplinary measures. Particularly training, accreditation and certification is important. No law says you must be trained but it is important to train your members so that they know what to do.