The Missing Bridge; Legal and Institutional Barriers to Adr in Third-Party Motor Insurance Claims in Tanzania, With Lessons From South Africa

This article critically examines the legal and institutional framework that governs Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in third-party motor insurance claims in Mainland Tanzania. It interrogates whether the existing architecture anchored in the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Motor Vehicles Insurance Act, the Insurance Act, the Civil Procedure Code and the Arbitration Act provides an effective, accessible and constitutionally compliant pathway for accident victims to obtain timely compensation. The analysis demonstrates that while Tanzania possesses general constitutional and legislative support for ADR, the framework remains fragmented and structurally unresponsive to the distinctive position of third-party claimants who stand outside the contractual relationship between insurer and policyholder. The Motor Vehicles Insurance Act is silent on dispute-resolution pathways; the jurisdiction of the Tanzania Insurance Ombudsman over pure third-party claims remains uncertain; and court-annexed mediation becomes available only after formal litigation has already commenced. Drawing on doctrinal analysis, comparative constitutional insight and access-to-justice theory, the article argues that this legislative and institutional gap undermines the protective purpose of compulsory third-party insurance and perpetuates dependence on costly and delayed court processes. It concludes that coherent statutory reform, clarifying the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and introducing specialized pre-litigation ADR procedures, is required if the constitutional promise of accessible justice is to be realized for ordinary motor accident victims.