The Law and Practice of Court-Annexed Mediation of Commercial Disputes In Federal Courts In Addis Ababa
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Date
2020-12
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Due to the incompatibilities between the interests of the parties involved in commercial
transactions, disagreements are inevitable. Therefore it is mandatory to find a better solution
to the disagreements. The dispute resolution system is seen as a key issue in commercial and
other transactions. Obviously, the usual mechanism of resolving commercial and other disputes
is by conventional court action. However, the inefficiency, aggressive nature, and the time lags
that sometimes accompany court proceedings are unpleasant realities in the legal system.
Given this fact, it demands other preferred method of dispute resolution mechanism like
mediation which is a basic form of commercial dispute resolution, displaying benefits
compared to conventional litigation. One of such preferred mechanism of handling commercial
disputes is court-annexed mediation. Being cognizant of its benefit in ensuring and fostering
smooth commercial and other transactions, recently Ethiopia has introduced court-annexed
mediation in Federal Courts since December 2021. Court Annexed Mediation is a mediation
conducted under the supervision of courts. Thus, this paper examined the existing laws
governing court-annexed mediation in Federal courts in Addis Ababa to find how far it has
helped in resolving commercial disputes effectively without engaging in conventional court
litigation. The research explored the existing practical concerns and challenges facing court annexed mediation in Federal Courts in Addis Ababa after the promulgation of Federal Courts
Establishment Proclamation No.1234/2021 and Court-Annexed Mediation Directive
No.12/2021. Some of the benefits and challenges of court-annexed mediation are also shown.
In a nutshell, the research mainly attempted to examine the laws and the realities or the
practice on the ground of court annexed mediation in Federal Courts in Addis Ababa with
specific reference to commercial disputes. Finally, the research puts forward some
recommendations which the researcher thinks to be appropriate.