Efficacy and adequacy of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in facilitating a desirable settlement of disputes and promoting access to civil justice in Tanzania

This study examines the use of Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) in civil cases in court proceedings and its effectiveness in promoting access to civil Justice in Tanzania. It looks at the procedures as provided in the law and considers whether those procedures have enabled ADR to be an effective tool for promotion of access to civil Justice in Tanzania. It considers the historical development of ADR worldwide and makes comparative summary on the operation and conduct of ADR in other countries such as United States, United Kingdom and Canada. It argues that unlike Tanzania, ADR court annexed in these countries have to greater extent reduced court cases congestion. It goes further and scrutinizes the legal framework of ADR in Tanzania. It has been found out in the study that the administration of civil justice suffers from court cases congestion, poor case management system, and very many delays thus affecting people’s access to justice. A critical examination on the limitations and weaknesses of mandatory mediation and ADR in general on both law and practice in Tanzania has been carried out. It is being strongly recommended here that it is important to encourage the use of voluntary mediation and out of court mediation, arbitration and other forms of ADR instead of concentrating too much on mandatory mediation.