Creative justice

Last year, chief justices and senior national judges from more than a dozen African countries attended a conference in Switzerland to learn about ways to expedite the civil cases clogging their courts. The event was part of a decade-long partnership with Pepperdine University, a Christian school in California that has partnered with African judiciaries to promote access to justice. You can read more about that effort in the story, “Missionaries of justice,” by WORLD’s Jenny Rough in this issue. Reform efforts up to this point have focused on criminal cases. I asked Jenny to explain the approach they’re now taking to civil cases.

What is alternative dispute resolution? ADR resolves civil lawsuits outside court through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. Breach of contract, land disputes, family matters, and other civil lawsuits often involve interpersonal conflicts and grudges. A trained mediator oversees the discussion, helps uncover underlying issues, and the parties work toward a resolution together. For example, a dispute may seem like it centers on money when the real concern is someone’s reputation or proper treatment in a commercial context. So ADR brings an opportunity to repair relationships and rebuild bridges.

This isn’t really a new concept in Africa, is it? The formal adoption of ADR might be new for some African countries, but at its heart, the approach isn’t new at all. This form of conflict resolution is allowing the countries to recapture their roots. Prior to the colonization across Africa, the village elder would bring two disputing parties to meet under the mango tree and mediate. That original African court system is so strikingly similar to the approach today that Uganda’s Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo says ADR really stands for African dispute resolution.

Your story focused on Uganda. Tell us about what’s happening in Kenya. Martha Koome is chief justice and president of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She’s doing tons of work on what she calls the “multi-door approach to justice.” She’s passionate about empowering citizens to resolve their own disputes by choosing the door they want to walk through: a formal venue, like court; a conciliation center; or an informal negotiation or mediation. Kenya has recently launched small-claims courts across the country for minor injuries. On the criminal side, she’s embracing what she calls green justice. Instead of incarceration, convicts plant trees, sweep city streets, and clean hospitals. Koome believes the rule of law is the foundation of a society, and that a strong judiciary is necessary to defend the rule of law and the constitution.

I was moved by her personal story. She was raised with 17 siblings in a farming family. Her Christian mother influenced her faith. She says God has held her hand through many difficulties. She credits God’s grace for her marriage to a good man who cheered her on as she raised their kids and pursued law. In 2020, the United Nations recognized Koome as an eminent defender of human rights. She was runner-up for UN Person of the Year for her advocacy.