Abstract

Since the late 1960s, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process has gone through several distinct phases. In many Western jurisdictions, ADR has increasingly gained public recognition as an 'alternative' to litigation. In contrast, non-court adjudication has historically been the primary method of settling disputes/conflicts in much of Africa, using the form of the Traditional African Method of Settling Dispute (TAMSD). This article argues that Western jurisdictions have not sufficiently acknowledged the debt owed to the Traditional African Method of Settling Dispute ...