Online Dispute Resolution For Consumers In The European Union

A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project. E-commerce offers immense challenges to traditional dispute resolution methods, as it entails parties often located in different parts of the world making contracts with each other at the click of a mouse. The use of traditional litigation for disputes arising in this forum is often inconvenient, impractical, time-consuming and expensive due to the low value of the transactions and the physical distance between the parties. Thus modern legal systems face a crucial choice: either to adopt traditional dispute resolution methods that have served the legal systems well for hundreds of years or to find new methods which are better suited to a world not anchored in territorial borders. Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), originally an off-shoot of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), takes advantage of the speed and convenience of the Internet, becoming the best, and often the only option for enhancing consumer redress and strengthening their trust in e-commerce. This book provides an in-depth account of the potential of ODR for European consumers, offering a comprehensive and up to date analysis of the development of ODR. It considers the current expansion of ODR and evaluates the challenges posed in its growth. The book proposes the creation of legal standards to close the gap between the potential of ODR services and their actual use, arguing that ODR, if it is to realise its full potential in the resolution of e-commerce disputes and in the enforcement of consumer rights, must be grounded firmly on a European regulatory model.

Of the ODR movement and review of the relevant literature / Marta Poblet -- Definitions of online dispute resolution / Simon Thomson & Avrom Sherr -- ODR and trans-border disputes / Przemysław Pecherzewski & Piotr Rodziewicz -- EU regulation on ODR : an introduction and some thoughts / Graham Ross -- Normative and positive developments in the field of online dispute resolution : the European Union level / Bilyana Gyaurova-Wegertseder -- What dispute resolution tasks to support with ODR, and how to support them / Jelle van Veenen -- Measuring the costs of ODR / Martin Gramatikov -- Quality of ODR procedures / Laura Klaming -- Dimension of the quality of the outcome of dispute resolution processes / Martin Gramatikov & Robert Porter.

Consumer out-of-court redress in the European Union is experiencing a significant transformation; indeed the current changes are the most important that have occurred in the history of the EU. This is due to the recent implementation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive 2013/11/EU and the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Regulation (EU) 2013/524. The Directive ensures the availability of quality ADR schemes and sets information obligations on businesses, and the Regulation enables the resolution of consumer disputes through a pan European ODR platform. The New Regulatory Framework for Consumer Dispute Resolution examines the impact of the new EU law in the field of consumer redress. Part I of the volume examines the new European legal framework and the main methods of consumer redress, including mediation, arbitration, and ombudsman schemes. Part II analyses the implementation of the ADR Directive in nine Member States with very different legal cultures in consumer redress, namely: Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, as well as the distinct approach taken in the US. Part III evaluates new trends in consumer ADR (CDR) by identifying best practices and looking at future trends in the field. In particular, it offers a vision of the future of CDR which is more than a mere dispute resolution tool, it poses a model on dispute system design for CDR, it examines the challenges of cross-border disputes, it proposes a strategy to promote mediation, and it identifies good practices of CDR and collective redress. The book concludes by calling for the mandatory participation of traders in CDR.

Online Dispute Resolution

Practical examples of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the US and EU - a handbook for best practice today

and tomorrow

A Promise Unfulfilled and What to Do About It - Complaint Handling Now

Marc Grainer; Scott Broetzmann, David Beinhacker, and

Richard Grainer

Online Dispute Resolution - Designing Systems for Effective Dispute Settlement - a US practitioner perspective

Jo DeMars

Online Dispute Resolution for Business - Embedding Online Dispute Resolution in the Civil Justice System

Pablo Cortes

Consumer Trust and Business Benefits with ODR

Immaculada Barral-Viñals

Where Law, Technology, Theory and Practice Overlap: Enforcement Mechanisms and System Design

Riika Koulu

The Experience of Combining Traditional Face to Face Dispute Resolution Mediation with an Online Dispute Resolution Tool

- Benefits and Challenges
Amy Koltz

Online Dispute Resolution Decision Making - A NetNeutrals Practitioner's View

Katherine G. Newcomer

One Man's View of One Country - ADR & ODR and the future of complaint management in the UK

Adrian Lawes

The field of consumer online dispute resolution is going through important developments throughout Europe. New ODR providers are entering the field and a growing number of ADR bodies are relying on digital technologies to resolve consumer complaints. Also, consumers are increasingly resorting to online platforms to achieve redress. ODR has the potential to increase consumers' access to redress by taking the procedure online. At the same time, the quality of cODR procedures remains a challenge. For instance, transparency is difficult to achieve, especially when algorithmic software is used, and a fair procedure cannot always be safeguarded in text-based online procedures. The fundamental right of access to justice not only underscores the right to access a dispute resolution body to emulate an enjoyment of substantive rights, but also the right to a procedure that complies with fairness standards. This book explores what procedural standards must be in place to secure consumers' access to fair ODR procedures in Europe, by way of a theoretical and empirical legal study. This research is financed by the ERC research council.

This book discusses how technological innovations have affected the resolution of disputes arising from electronic commerce in the European Union, UK and China. Online dispute resolution (ODR) is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which information technology is used to establish a process that is more effective and conducive to resolving the specific types of dispute for which it was created. This book focuses on out-of-court ODR and the resolution of disputes in the field of electronic commerce. It explores the potential of ODR in this specific e-commerce context and investigates whether the current use of ODR is in line with the principles of access to justice and procedural fairness. Moreover, it examines the major concerns surrounding the development of ODR, e.g. the extent to which electronic ADR agreements are recognized by national courts in cross-border e-commerce transactions, how procedural justice is ensured in ODR proceedings, and whether ODR outcomes can be effectively enforced. To this end, the book assesses the current and potential role of ODR in resolving e-commerce disputes, identifies the legal framework for and legal barriers to the development of ODR, and makes recommendations as to the direction in which practice and the current legal framework should evolve. In closing, the book draws on the latest legislation in the field of e-commerce law and dispute resolution in order to make recommendations for future ODR design, such as the EU Platform-to-Business Regulation on Promoting Fairness and Transparency for Business Users of Online Intermediation Services (2019) and the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (2018), which provide the legal basis for ODR’s future development.

Consumer ADR in the Landscape of Adjudication The landscape of alternative dispute resolution in consumer cases (CADR) is about to change profoundly. With the advent of Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and Regulation (EU) No 524/2013 on online dispute resolution (ODR) a new way to settle disputes is advocated as a tool to enhance the internal market. The ADR system implemented by these instruments is designed to provide for speedy and low-cost out-of-court dispute settlement procedures between consumers and traders arising from the sales of goods and services. However, many questions remain open, namely the impact of the CADR system on the adjudication by state courts. The role CADR can play in the administration of justice is yet to be defined. In the present volume renowned experts of civil procedure and ADR shed light on a newly emerging branch of law.

This is the first systematic comparative study into how consumer ADR systems (usually ombudsmen and médiateurs) work, the differing national architectures within which they operate and how they can be improved. It describes ADR schemes in Belgium, France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom as well as emerging pan-EU dispute resolution schemes. Use of the techniques of mediation, conciliation and adjudication are noted. It also covers EU measures on consumer ADR, and 2011 proposals for legislation on ADR and ODR. Data on volumes, cost and duration of ADR schemes are compared, both between different systems and with courts. The authors' findings underpin EU and national developments, and outline options for future policy. Findings and proposals are included for the functions, scope, performance, essential requirements, architecture and operation of ADR systems. The relationships between ADR, courts and regulators are discussed, and need for reforms are noted. This is a ground-breaking work that will have a major impact on European legal systems.