Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) emerged as an answer to issues arising from online e-commerce transactions. It was geographically and legally infeasible to resolve these kinds of disputes in a court. eBay was the first major online concern to implement an ODR system, to address disputes between buyers and sellers in transactions conducted on its platform. Since then, ODR systems have multiplied in great numbers among private and public companies, as well as judicial court systems in many countries, including the US, China, India, and the UK.
Technology has forever changed the ways we in which we communicate, share, access, and analyze information. In ODR, technology plays multiple roles, grouped here into four broad categories: administrative, communicative, substantive, and practical. To further elaborate on each with brief examples:
Administrative: Case Management
Communicative: Email, Scheduling, Education, Outreach, Discovery Rooms
Substantive: Legal predictive analytics
Practical: Assisting lawyers, Assisting parties, Assisting mediators
The benefits are equally seen in online courts, where there has in many cases been marked improvement in efficiency, access, and quality of justice served.
References:
Martinez, Janet K. (2020). Designing Online Dispute Resolution. Journal of Dispute Resolution, Volume 2020 Issue 1 Article 10.
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