IDLO – ACCESSING JUSTICE: SOMALIA’S ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION CENTERS
Table 1: ADR Centers in Somalia
REGION
ADR CENTER DISTRICTS (as of April 2020)
CENTER ADJUDICATORS (as of April 2020)
Hamar-Jajab
2 women; 7 men
Hodan
2 women; 6 men
Karan
3 women; 8 men
GALMUDUG
Dhusamreb
2 women; 14 men
HIRSHABELLE
Jowhar
2 women; 11 men
Kismayo
2 women; 5 men
Garbaharey
2 women; 6 men
Galkayo
2 women; 10 men
Buhoodle
2 women; 10 men
Badhan
2 women; 10 men
Burtinle
0 women; 5 men
Dhadhar
0 women; 5 men
Bossasso
0 women; 7 men
Garowe
0 women; 5 men
Baidoa
15 women; 15 men
Hudur
2 women; 7 men
16 Centers
169 Adjudicators (38 women and 131 men)
BENADIR
47
JUBALAND
PUNTLAND
SOUTHWEST 6 Regions
ADR Centers represent a unique model of justice delivery aimed at facilitating the settlement of disputes through the use of informal dispute resolution methods. Importantly, the ADR process blends elements of arbitration, mediation and other conventional ADR methods while preserving alignment with customary norms and emphasizing consensus-building and voluntary agreement of parties. With an average yearly operational cost ranging between US$40,000 and US$50,000 per Center, ADR offers a cost-effective complement to formal judicial mechanisms which are still being rebuilt in Somalia, aimed at ensuring wider justice accessibility, including through standard referral to competent formal authorities where appropriate.
Standard Operating Procedures In June 2018, IDLO supported the Ministry of Justice in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for ADR Centers. These were revised in 2019 and included a complaint registration form to record information about matters brought to the Centers.48 The SOPs contain a set of guidelines and regulations outlining the ADR process and provide a framework to ensure adjudication and practices within the Centers are efficient and consistent across Centers, transparent and accountable, and in line with international principles.49 Importantly, the SOPs are aimed at institutionalizing customary dispute resolution practices in order to “form and maintain a workable and administratively effective Alternative/Customary dispute resolution process to solve disputes or conflicts”, while preserving and strengthening linkages and coordination between the formal and the customary justice systems, in accordance with the ADR National Policy objectives.50
47 One female Adjudicator joined the Karan roster following completion of key informant interviews and participated only in a focus group discussion. 48 Government of Federal Republic of Somalia Ministry of Justice and Judiciary Affairs, Alternative Dispute Resolution Standard Operating Procedure, Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit, June 2018, later revised in September 2019 and adopted by the Ministry of Justice in February 2020. The SOPs are conceived as a living document and may be further revised following roll out in Federal Member States to address limits and gaps that might arise from operational experience. 49 Ministry of Justice and Judiciary Affairs, Standard Operating Procedures, revised version September 2019, section 2. 50 Ibid., section 3.
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