ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE

RESOLUTION (ADR) AS PANACEA

TO THE SHORTCOMINGS OF THE
NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

BY:
OYAWALE, AYOKUNLE BABAFUNMI
LAW/2001/099

BEING AN ESSAY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF LAWS DEGREE
(LL.B) OF THE OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY,
ILE-IFE, NIGERIA.
 OCTOBER 2007
CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this Long Essay was written by Oyawale, Ayokunle Babafunmi

(Reg. No. LAW/2001/099) Part V student of the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo

University, Ile-Ife under my supervision and approval subject to the acceptance by the

candidate of full responsibilities for all errors and mistakes still discoverable therein.

____________________ _____________________

BABAWALE, T. A. DATE

Department of Jurisprudence and Private Law,

Faculty of Law,
Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife,
Osun State.

ii
 DEDICATION

To

The Blessed Trinity - God Most High, my Father; Jesus Christ my Saviour and Love, and

the Holy Spirit, my Comforter and True Guide…

And

The Reverend and Mrs. Olufemi Oyawale - my priceless parents who have loved me

relentlessly from the start and taught me the timeless lessons of life.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My deepest appreciation goes first to God for saving me and setting my feet on the path

of life and ministry in the first place and for blessing me with the privilege of this

programme and bringing me safely to the end of it by His divine power.

Also my love and thanks to my parents, The Reverend and Mrs. Olufemi Oyawale.

There would be no me without you. Thank you for exercising true patience through my

teenage years and for still believing in me. I couldn’t possibly ask for any better! Brother

Seun, Sister Bose and Jumoke, you are simply the best! Nothing can ever replace those

golden memories of growing up together.

For this very work I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. T. A. Babawale. I

am ever grateful, Sir, for your kind-hearted support throughout the process, especially for

your concern and advice when resource materials were scarce. May God continue to lift

you up and bless your every endeavour.

To my Head of Department, Mr. O. S. Oyelade, bless you, Sir, for the reference to the

Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Lagos, and to Professor A. O. Popoola, the Dean

and all my lecturers, thank you for your time, expertise and fatherly support. Mrs.

Adeyinka, you are not forgotten. May God bless you all.

iv
Now to my sweetheart and best friend, Oluwabukola Aramide, thanks for your love and

care and for all those little things that make loving you my greatest hobby. You saw in

me things I never knew were there and brought them to the fore. Like the Yoruba elders

pray: ‘May God make us friends till night falls’.

Barrister ‘Tunde Ajala, thank you for your advice in drawing the outline for this project.

Deji Bajela, am eternally grateful, not just for your friendship of the past six years, but

most of all, for your kind gesture in lending me your laptop for five days every week for

2 months. You made my project work hassle-free and efficient. I owe you ‘big time’!

Kayode Kolade, Funmi Omoyiola, Tolu Oduolowu and Bolu Lawal, you are the best

friends anyone could ever ask for. Thanks for the invaluable gift of knowing you and for

all you have meant to me in your own diverse and special ways. If you think this is the

end…, you are in for a surprise!

To the countless angels God placed in my life at one point or the other, I cannot but

express my heartfelt gratitude. Prime among these ‘angels’ are Miss. ‘Dupe Uwaifo,

Brigadier-General ‘Tunde and Aunty ‘Yinka Reis and the kids, Surveyor Olukayode

Akinbola, Mrs. Bisola Oduyale, Barristers Taiwo Otuneye and Tunde Merotohun, Mr.

and Mrs. Kolade, Dr. (Mrs.) Ike Fayomi and family, Uncle Tope Ogunsheye and Uncle

Biyi Oyawale. Thanks for everything.

v
Finally I say a grand ‘Thank you’ to all members of Believers Assembly (BA), OAU both

past and present. You filled my stay in Great Ife with memories emblazoned in gold! You

are all too numerous to mention, but thanks to each of you all the same for your love,

support and trust, and for the opportunity to serve you these past many years. Olasumbo

Makinde, Mopelola Shobowale and Oluwatosin Oyelakin, my newfound ‘children’, it’s

been great knowing you. May God be with you all.

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………… i

CERTIFICATION …………………………………………………………… ii

DEDICATION …………………………………………………………… iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………… iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………… vii

TABLE OF CASES …………………………………………………………… x

TABLE OF STATUTES………………………………………………………… xi

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS……………………………… xii

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………… xiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCING ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

(ADR) 1

1.1 WHAT IS ADR? 1

1.1.1 ADR: ‘Alternative’ or ‘Appropriate’…………………………….. 6

1.2 ADR PROCESSES 8

1.2.1 NEGOTIATION…………………………………………………. 9

1.2.2 CONCILIATION………………………………………………… 13

1.2.3 MEDIATION…………………………………………………….. 15

1.2.3.1 Caucuses………………………………………………… 17

1.2.3.2 Styles of Mediation……………………………………… 18

1.2.3.3 Invitation and Process of the Mediation………………… 20

vii
 1.2.4 ARBITRATION………………………………………………… 23

1.2.4.1 Types of Arbitration…………………………………….. 26

1.2.4.2 Arbitration Clauses in Contracts………………………… 29

1.2.4.3 Benefits and Shortcomings of Arbitration………………. 30

1.2.5 ADR HYBRID MODELS………………………………………. 33

1.3 THE PROSPECTS OF ADR 35

CHAPTER TWO: SHORTCOMINGS OF THE NIGERIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

NECESSITATING ADR 39

2.1 DELAY IN JUSTICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA………………………. 41

2.2 GENERAL FACTORS CAUSING FOR INEFFICIENCY…………….. 46

CHAPTER THREE:THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ADR 51

3.1 A BROAD HISTORY OF ADR…………………………………………. 52

3.2 ADR IN AFRICA………………………………………………………... 55

3.3 INTEGRATION OF ADR INTO NIGERIA’S JUDICIAL SYSTEM…... 59

CHAPTER FOUR: THE LAGOS MULTI-DOOR COURTHOUSE

(LMDC) 61

4.1 THE MULTI-DOOR COURTHOUSE AND THE COURT-CONNECTION

CONCEPT……………………………………………………………..... 61

4.2 A SHORT HISTORY…………………………………………………… 64

4.3 THE CASE PROCESS AT THE LMDC……………………………….. 67

viii
4.4 THE ‘DOORS’ OF THE LMDC………………………………………... 72

4.5 THE QUESTION OF ENFORCEMENT OF ADR AGREEMENTS…… 75

4.6 THE LMDC FIVE YEARS ON…………………………………………. 76

CHAPTER FIVE: CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN ADR WORLDWIDE 81

5.1 ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ODR)…………………………….. 81

5.1.1 Categories of Online Disputes…………………………………… 83

5.1.2 Venues of Online Resolution of Each Category of Disputes……. 85

5.1.3 Resolution of Other Disputes Online…………………………… 86

5.2 CORPORATE / COMMERCIAL ADR………………………………… 89

5.2.1 Ex-Ante and Ex-Post ADR Agreements………………………… 94

5.3 ADR IN LABOUR MANAGEMENT………………………………….. 96

5.4 STATE-BASED ADR PROGRAMMES……………………………….. 97

5.4.1 ADR in South Africa……………………………………………. 98

5.4.2 ADR in Ukraine…………………………………………………. 101

5.5 THE REGULATION OF ADR………………………………………….. 103

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION: PROPOSALS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

OF ADR IN NIGERIA 108

BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………… 114

ix
 TABLE OF CASES

Dunnet v. Railtrack Plc (2002) 2 All ER 850…………………………………… 62

Kano State Urban Development v. Fanz Construction Co.

(1990) 4 NWLR (pt 142) 1 at 32………………………………………… 24

Lewis v. Bankole (1908) 1 N.L.R 81 at 100……………………………………. 59

Scott v. Avery (1856) 25. L.J. Ex 308: S.H.L.C 811……………………………. 29

Shirayama Shokusan v. Danovo Ltd (2003) EWHC 3006………………………. 64

x
 TABLE OF STATUTES

Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Cap A18, LFN 2004)

Courts of Arbitration Act of Ukraine (No. 1701 – IV)

xi
 TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS

AAA - American Arbitration Association

ADR - Alternative Dispute Resolution

CAMP - Court of Appeal Mediation Programme

CCMA - Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration

CCRS - Community Conflict Resolution Service

CEDR - Centre for Dispute Resolution

CRS - Community Relations Service

DRB - Dispute Resolution Board

DRO - Dispute Resolution Officer

HR - Human Resources

IDRS - Industrial Dispute Resolution Service

IMSSA - Independent Mediation Services of South Africa

LMDC - Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse

NCMG - Negotiation and Conflict Management Group

NGO - Non-Governmental Organization

ODR - Online Dispute Resolution

UNCITRAL - United Nations Commission of International Trade Law

xii
 ABSTRACT

Once upon a time it was that the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) idea was seen as

nothing more than a hobbyhorse for a few offbeat scholars. Today, the ADR movement

has drawn wide attention. It has become a phenomenon incapable of being ignored.

Nations the world over are increasingly experiencing an awakening to the possibilities of

revamping and injecting life and efficiency into their judicial systems via ADR. In fact,

during the past five years, there have been literally scored of books, articles, conferences,

bulletins, newsletters and new course offerings on ADR.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) speaks of a range of methods of settling civil

disputes amicably between parties without the need for having recourse to litigation or

the traditional court system. These alternatives to traditional court litigation include

mediation, negotiation, conciliation and arbitration as the major forms of dispute

resolution. Some are carried out between the disputing parties, while others require third-

party involvement.

The Nigerian legal system stands to benefit immensely from the increased patronage of

ADR, especially where justice delivery is concerned. Countless countries the world over,

are researching and implementing systems of ADR in a bid to make their legal systems

more efficient.

xiii
This work seeks to present a comprehensive study of ADR and its methods and consider

the prospects it bears for the Nigerian legal system with particular emphasis on its

‘Archilles’ Heel’ of lateness and delay in the delivery of justice. Also, the Lagos Multi-

door Courthouse (LMDC) will be put in the spotlight as the pioneer of organised ADR in

Nigeria and lastly, proposals will be made for advancing ADR in Nigeria based its

prospects for swift, cheaper and amicable settlement of civil disputes in light of

contemporary trends of ADR administration worldwide.

xiv