#Bookrecommendation of my book ’Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Comparative Analysis: Nigeria, the UK and the US’.
It’s written by Tony Guise on #linkedin.
In different capacities, Tony Guise has been at the heart of every major #civil #justice #reform of the past Thirty (30). Notable successes include the formation of the Civil Justice Council (CJC) in 1997, the campaign for new court accommodation in 2007 that became the Rolls Building, and, in 2013, #costs budgeting.
For the next week or so I thought it might be fun, even didactic, to look overseas at what is going on with other countries’ efforts to Bust their Backlogs. Where better to start than the latest book by Dr Chinwe Egbunike-Umegbolu, AFHEA the well-known podcaster and Academic. Chinwe’s book covers three jurisdictions: England & Wales, Nigeria and the USA. Its conclusion: “#ADR is an antidote for the delay that has clogged court systems over the years.”
Axiomatic? Perhaps. Where this book is different, and powerful, is the author’s use of empirical evidence across her 3 chosen jurisdictions.
Pleasingly, the jurisprudence of Jeremy Bentham permeates the content and the bedrock of this book’s thesis. Bentham’s arguments for countering congestion in our civil courts (perhaps sadly) remain as relevant in 2024 as they were in 1824.
The problems are found to be common: increasing populations, too few judges and too few courthouses. In Africa a different aspect emerges. There the Traditional African Method of Settling Disputes (TAMSD, different forms of ADR) was prevalent until the Colonial period when the rigidity of the Common Law almost extinguished the dynamism of indigenous ADR.
Now places such as Nigeria are reviving TAMSD and restoring its place in civil justice. The same point was made by the Chief Justice of Kenya, Martha Koome, during her keynote at the ADR ODR International Limited panel in November 2024 (an Official Event of Dubai Arbitration Week 2024) in which she described ADR as African Dispute Resolution.
An equally powerful point is made by the book’s author about her empirical research showing that in a number of cities in the USA “..the masses do not have a clue what ADR is and where to find ADR Providers.”
Education is her prescription for curing that problem. Finland has had a programme of Peer Education about mediation for over 20 years now and it has paid dividends. The Lagos High Court Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDCH) was the first to be established in Africa and is a success story.
Yet the terms of that success have yet to be determined. The advantages of ADR are well demonstrated in this book. But in the era of mass ADR, perhaps we need to look at effectiveness from a macro-justice standpoint? That’s probably Chinwe’s next book!
I recommend this book to Regular Readers and Occasional Visitors alike. If, like me, you enjoy research grounded in reality, then this is for you! Published by Springer Nature, the title is available as an eBook or hardcover (link in comments).
The ideal Christmas gift for lawyers/mediators and anyone seeking to make sense of a world in which mass ADR is the dominant feature of civil justice.
DisputesEfiling.com Limited Rahim Shamji DDRS Sue Prince Masood Ahmed Pablo Cortes Bryan Clark Diana Wallis Elisabetta Sciallis Jeff Soilson Colin Rule Clare Fowler Achere Cole FCIArb, UK Gordon Ogola.”
Gratitude Sir! Much appreciated.
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