GAUGING ATTITUDES OF JUDGES AND LAWYERS TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR) IN NIGERIA: A PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has found some acceptance in the formal conflict resolution arena in Nigeria. However, the growth and usefulness of ADR cannot be guaranteed if the major players in the litigation space such as judges and lawyers are not in support of adoption of ADR in the settlement of disputes. To this end, the aim of this paper is to examine the attitudes of judges and lawyers to ADR in Nigeria in order to determine the extent of the relationship between these stakeholders and ADR. This paper adopted the doctrinal methodology of research and it was found that judges are lukewarm towards ADR because consent judgments are not used by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in the assessment of judges. It was also found that some lawyers have not fully embraced ADR because of the fear that ADR will affect their earnings and because ADR is not a criterion for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). This paper recommended that the NJC should encourage judges to refer cases to ADR by using consent judgments as one of the criteria for the quarterly evaluation of judges and that the number of cases a lawyer settles through ADR should be used in assessing the lawyer with regards to the conferment of the rank of SAN. In conclusion, there is a need for all the critical stakeholders in the justice delivery system, especially judges and lawyers, to fully embrace ADR in the resolution of disputes.