Judiciary rolls out mediation process on cases to help solve disputes.

 High Court Judge Justice Aggrey Muchelule{C} address Court Users Committee meeting in Kisumu where he said the Judiciary has rolled out mediation process on cases to help in solving disputes.With him is the Principal High Court Judge Lydia Achode{R} and High Registrar-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo.

November 7, 2018.

Judiciary rolls out mediation process on cases to help solve disputes.

THE JUDICIARY in the Country has rolled out mediation process on cases throughout the court system in the country in what is known as Court Annexed Mediation {CAM}.

A Commissioner with the Judicial Service Commission and High Court Judge Justice Aggrey Muchelule says this is an alternative dispute resolution process where parties resolve their dispute with the Assistance of a third party called mediator.

Addressing a meeting of Court Users Committee at Kisumu Law Court to brief them on the Court Annexed Mediation, Justice Muchelule said the process is less expensive compared to solving dispute through the court process.

Justice Muchelule who is also a member of Taskforce on Mediation says the process is very much different from litigation where a plaintiff file a suit in court against a defendant  and the matter is heard and determined in court.

He says already the process has been launched in ten High Court stations in the country, adding that it will be launched in all the courts across the country.

“Our experience is that the process of litigation always produces a winner and a loser. One of the process that mediation is going to produce is winners without losers because if a settlement is arrived at after a discussion held under the management of a mediator, then the result is going to be an agreement that both parties can embrace,” Muchelule says.

He says most of the cases which can be handled through mediation are civil ones but not criminal ones.

Muchelule adds already mediators have been trained and accredited for this process, adding that in Kisumu alone 20 mediators have already been trained and accredited to carry out the process for mediation as it is launched this week in Kisumu.

He adds that more mediators will be trained and accredited for this process in all the courts in the entire country, adding that the Judiciary will pay shs 20,000 to a mediator in a case he will be able to solve through mediation.

“We have set up a mediation registry and mediation room. Mediation room is going to be a confidential room where only a mediator and parties in dispute sit and come up with their own resolutions in regard to a dispute,” Muchelule adds.

He adds that in a mediation process, if parties for some reasons are not able to reach a settlement over a dispute then the matter is taken back to the court to be heard like any other case, adding that there is a hope that matters referred to mediation will be settled.

“Our experience has shown that in Nairobi, it takes 60 days to solve a matter through mediation and some of these matters which have been solved within 60n days through mediation have been in court even more than ten years because parties wrangling since that is the nature of most parties like to fight until there is a loser and a winner,” Muchelule further says.

Muchelule adds that the process of mediation has been embraced because of article 159 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 which mandates the Judiciary to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution in the administration of Justice.

“The reason why we have embraced mediation is because of the Article 159 of the constitution of Kenya says all courts exercising  the Judicial authority on behalf of Kenyans must embrace an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism of which one of them is mediation,” Muchelule adds.

He further says that the other reason why mediation is being embraced is that Courts on their own do not have the capacity to hear and determine all cases that are pending before it so there is backlog of cases and one of the reasons for this is that there are no enough magistrates and judges to deal with all the cases.

Muchelule says by embracing mediation, the Judiciary is giving back cases to the people to help in their resolutions.

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