The delays experienced in justice system in the state will be minimized with the multi-door courthouse, the Chief Judge of Rivers State has said.
The Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Simeon Amadi, who stated this at the inauguration of the state multi-door courthouse said that the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) would speed up dispensation of justice.
The Chief Judge said: “The core objectives of the Rivers State Multi-Door Courthouse are to enhance access to justice by providing alternative mechanism to supplement litigation in the resolution of dispute and minimize frustration and delay in the justice delivery system by providing a standard legal framework for fair and efficient settlement of dispute through Alternative Dispute Resolution”.
He further said that the multi-door courthouse would have as its focal point promotion of ADR in the state and promote growth and effective functioning of justice system through alternative dispute resolution methods.
He said the law setting up the multi-door courthouse provided for establishment of the courthouse as well as its functions and appointment of Governing Council and key officers of the courthouse to be headed by a director.
He said the law also provided for appointment of ADR judges and roles of the court as well as lawyers, parties and collaboration with body of arbitrators, mediators and neutral evaluators and such other persons.
He said that there was misconception by some lawyers that the multi-door courthouse would operate to “debrief” them of their cases saying that “the contrary” was the case.
The governor of the state, Chief Nyesom Wike, in his address said that the multi-door courthouse would further expand frontiers of justice dispensation.
He said his administration had built and furnished courts for use of lawyers and litigants as well as judges presiding over cases.
He said one fundamental promise by his administration was to transform the state’s judicial system and make it “pre-eminent judicial hub” in Southern Nigeria.
Based on this the governor said it led to the accomplishment of three interconnected goals: “The modernization of judicial infrastructure, improving the welfare and well-being of judicial officers and magistrates and increasing access to effective and efficient judicial services”.
He said his administration had made significant progress in the last six years to transform the judicial sector spending very significant state resources to build and rebuild and furnish and equip most state and federal courthouses.
He said the state multi-door courthouse was another significant achievement by his administration.
On his part, the Chairman of Port-Harcourt branch of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Prince Nyekwere, said that lawyers were grateful because the multi-door courthouse would expand their frontiers of practice and thanked the governor for assenting to the bill establishing multi-door courthouse.
The Leader of Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Rivers State branch, Chief OCJ Okocha, (SAN), said speedy dispensation of justice and access to justice were at the core of establishing the multi-door courthouse while the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor, said that the multi-door courthouse system came into being in the search for new mode of dispensation of justice combining speed with cost effectiveness.
