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International Journal of Online Dispute Resolution

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Issue 2, 2020 Expand all abstracts
Article

Access_open Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Digital Sector

A Dejurisdictionalization Process?

Keywords European legislation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, civil procedure
Authors Rebecca Berto
AbstractAuthor's information

    Alternative Dispute Resolution (=ADR) is a generic reference to consensus-based processes that provide an alternative to litigation and to binding arbitration procedures. Analysing European provisions, the European legislator pushes Alternative Dispute Resolution methods as a means of resolving not only consumer-to-business disputes but also business-to-business. This may determine over the long term a sort of ‘dejurisdictionalization’ process, moving disputes from tribunals to Alternative Dispute Resolution methods. Procedural rights, however, such as raising interpretative questions to the European Court of Justice, may only be exercised before a court.
    Therefore, Alternative Dispute Resolution and national civil procedure are separated by a sort of procedural ‘Chinese wall’: this legislator’s forma mentis, repeated also in more recent directives, hinders the development of cross-border procedural provisions capable of tackling the legal and procedural questions posed by communication services and new technologies, such as blockchain, whose technical features are not limited by geographical boundaries.
    This article argues that, in the light of technological advancements, the European internal market needs new common procedural legislation fit for the cross-border economic and legal relationships carried out within it.


Rebecca Berto
Rebecca Berto is a lawyer with ECC-Italy: d.jur. University of Padua, Pg. Dipl. International Dispute Resolution (Arbitration) Queen Mary University – London, admitted to the Italian Bar. The views expressed herein are solely the author’s and represent neither that of ECC Italy nor of its host structures or any other of its public financiers. All opinions and errors are of the author. The author did not receive private or public funds for this article.
Article

Towards Online Dispute Resolution-Led Justice in China

Keywords Online Dispute Resolution, smart court, internet court, access to justice, China
Authors Carrie Shu Shang and Wenli Guo
AbstractAuthor's information

    The use of online dispute resolution (ODR) in courts is a growing topic of interest. By focusing on the recent development of ODR-connected smart courts in China, this article explores ODR’s potential impact on Chinese legal systems from three aspects: role of courts and the legal profession, due process rights, and information safety. By focusing on changing dispute resolution theories – from emphasizing on conflict resolution to dispute prevention – the article argues that ODR-led court reforms rose to the centre because the reform caters to specific purposes of the recent series of reforms conducted under the auspices of the Rule of Law campaign, by prioritizing efficiency goals and attempting to enhance individualist justice experiences. In this article, we define the meaning of ODR in China and describe and categorize ODR technologies that are currently in use in China. Based on these general findings and promising technological options of ODR, we also recommend ways to better implement ODR in Chinese courts to take full advantage of technological advancements.


Carrie Shu Shang
Carrie Shu Shang, Assistant Professor, Coordinator, Business Law program, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona,

Wenli Guo
Wenli Guo, Ph.D., Assistant President, Beiming Software Co. Ltd., President, Internet Nomocracy Institute of Beiming Software Co. Ltd.,
Article

Smart Contracts and Smart Dispute Resolution

Just Hype or a Real Game Changer?

Keywords smart contracts, blockchain, arbitration, dispute resolution, contract law, distributed ledger technology, internet of things, cyber law, technology, innovation
Authors Mangal Chauhan
AbstractAuthor's information

    This article explains the functioning of smart contracts and technology underlying blockchain. This contribution aims to compare smart contracts with traditional contracts and discuss their situation under the present contract law. It further discusses possible issues that may arise out of the application of smart contracts, for instance, coding errors and programming defects. It studies the possible application of smart contracts to specific fields, such as e-commerce and consumer transactions and possible disputes arising out of this application. It divides the smart contracts into categories based on their form and discusses legal issues in regard to their application.
    Against the common perception that smart contracts will replace the judicial enforcement of traditional contracts, it argues that smart contracts will not replace the system but are rather another form of contracts to be governed by it. In fact, the interplay of smart contracts and contractual law creates possible legal issues as to their validity, recognition and enforcement. It provides possible solutions as to the legal issues arising out of the application of smart contracts under present contract law. The study concludes that a robust and ‘smart’ dispute resolution mechanism is required for dealing with disputes arising out of the application of new technology. Online or blockchain arbitration and other online dispute resolution mechanisms are argued to be better suited to dealing with such disputes.


Mangal Chauhan
Mangal Chauhan is Risk Analyst (Global Entity Management) at TMF Group, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom.
Article

Paperless Arbitration

The New Trend?

Keywords paperless arbitration, arbitral practice and procedure, cybersecurity, new technology
Authors William Brillat-Capello, Laura Canet, Gillian Carmichael Lemaire e.a.
AbstractAuthor's information

    A webinar organized by Laura Canet and William Brillat-Capello, with Gillian Carmichael Lemaire, Yulia Mullina, Sebastián Partida, Sarah Tulip, Sergey Alekhin as speakers
    This webinar, organized by the associates of the Paris-based firm Betto Perben Pradel Filhol, was held at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, arbitral practice and procedure have evolved considerably because of the increase in the number of paperless arbitrations and paperless hearings. The issues and challenges discussed below are still relevant to assess whether this trend will become the normal way of conducting arbitrations after the end of the current global health crisis or will simply constitute one of the tools available to practitioners. As the world is still dealing with this unprecedented crisis, the transcription of this webinar offers a snapshot of some of the earliest conclusions reached about how the pandemic is changing arbitration as we knew it.


William Brillat-Capello
William Brillat-Capello is associate at Betto Perben Pradel Filhol.

Laura Canet
Laura Canet is is associate at Betto Perben Pradel Filhol.

Gillian Carmichael Lemaire
Gillian Carmichael Lemaire is Independent Arbitration Practitioner.

Yulia Mullina
Yulia Mullina is Executive Administrator at the Russian Arbitration Center.

Sebastián Partida
Sebastián Partida is Corporate Counsel at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Sarah Tulip
Sarah Tulip is barrister at 3VB.

Serghei Alekhin
Serghei Alekhin is Counsel at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Sidney Moreland
Arbitrator Sidney Moreland holds two undergraduate degrees from Louisiana Tech University and a Juris Doctor Law degree from the Southern Law School, where he was an honours graduate and a member of Law Review. Moreland received the American Jurisprudence Award for his study in the field of Evidence. He has arbitrated over 1,000 cases in his 28-year arbitration career, including commercial disputes, employment matters, labour-management disputes, interest arbitration issues, financial and securities claims, railroad and airline cases, federal agency conflicts and noteworthy civil matters referred to arbitration or mediation by the state and federal courts. Permanent panels and other parties (not comprehensive): National Football League/NFL Players Association; Pepsico; Dallas Area Regional Transit/A.T.U.; Southwest Airlines/TCU; CSX Transportation/B.L.E.T.; Broward County, Florida/AFL-CIO; Customs & Border Protection/NTEU; Social Security Administration/AFGE; Orion Corporation/U.S.W.; Union Pacific/S.M.A.R.T.-TD.

Colin Rule
Colin Rule is CEO of Mediate.com and Arbitrate.com.