Appeal Court Judge Advocates For Mediation, To Help Attract Foreign Investors

Kumasi, Aug 12, - An appeal Court Judge, Mrs Justice Theodora Wood, has stressed the need to encourage negotiation, mediation and arbitration in the settlement of disputes if Ghana is to succeed in attracting foreign investors. ''Investors are a group of people who do not like litigation. They are comfortable in doing business in countries where avenues exist for quick and effective settlement of disputes,'' she said. Speaking at a five-day workshop on conflict management and alternative dispute resolution in Kumasi, Mrs Justice Wood said: ''We cannot afford the luxury of litigation with its attendant loss of precious man hours... as litigants shuttle in an out of courtrooms for months, sometimes for years for the disposal of their cases.'' It is organised jointly by the Ghana Literacy and Resource Foundation and the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, with sponsorship from Hann's Seidel Foundation of Germany. The workshop is being attended by participants drawn from the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs, the Ghana Bar Association, the Judiciary, and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Others are from the Legal Aid Board, Electoral Commission, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), Rent Control and the Department of Social Welfare.