Online Dispute Resolution Systems as Web Services v1-0.PDF

With the growth of information technology and the Internet, a new always-on and global marketplace has transformed business: electronic commerce has appeared in the business and legal landscape. Inevitably, with this new form of commerce came new forms of disputes. As transactions in a global market mean an increased probability of transnational disputes, parties situated sometimes on different continents are opposed over small claims. Courts or traditional out-of-court dispute resolution mechanisms cannot reasonably resolve such conflicts. As a consequence, a new tool for dispute resolution has appeared, which is more efficient, more cost effective and more flexible than traditional approaches: this is Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). The parties to a deal that has gone awry are offered the possibility to solve their dispute over the Internet, communicating by means of emails, chat-rooms, videoconferences and other electronic means. Although ODR is a booming business, with some institutions reporting having handled over 200'000 disputes in a little over two years, many technical issues have to be addressed to increase the quality and reliability of "online justice". For lawyers, solving a dispute means reconstructing what has happened, in order to determine who is right and who is wrong. In cyberspace, this can be difficult.