- The courts in the conflict-affected areas should have adequate accommodation and provided with better resources. - Where District Courts and Magistrate Courts are combined, they should sit separately so that property cases are considered by District Courts as a matter of priority. - The Court of Appeal should have sittings as a circuit court in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in order to speed up the appeals process. (4) Establishment of an alternative dispute resolution mechanism The expense and delay involved in going to court may deter people from returning to their homes thereby preventing a return to normalcy and contributing to the potential for further outbreaks of conflict. Even with changes to the law and with a better-resourced judiciary, many people do not have adequate redress through the courts. - - An alternative dispute resolution body should be established to deal with property claims in the war-affected regions. - The body should be presided over by at least two legally-qualified professionals and should employ qualified officers to record claims and report to the body. - The body should have the authority to resolve all property disputes irrespective of the value of the claim. - The body should have the authority to issue interim orders for relief, and to recommend alternative accommodation, land or compensation. In the case of particularly sensitive disputes, which are likely to disrupt the peace, where the court may have no practical authority and where enforcement of court judgments is difficult, it may be desirable for the dispute to be determined by a committee with an international membership that satisfies the parties' requirement for unquestionable impartiality. Finally, Stage 1 found that a large number of IDPs had no property interests to protect in the courts. The problem of landlessness, a major issue for the return to normalcy in the conflictaffected regions, falls outside the boundaries of this report. UN Guiding Principles On Internal Displacement Principle 21 1. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of property and possession. 2. The property and possessions of internally displaced persons shall in all circumstances by protected, in particular, against the following acts: (a) Pillage; (b) Direct or indiscriminate attacks or other acts of violence; 5