The Third Party and Beyond: An Analysis of the Different Parties, in Particular the Fifth, Involved in Online Dispute Resolution

Abstract:     
In a society that virtualises, with most of the current youth being online substantial parts of the day, to say that in the not so far future ODR will handle a large part of the disputes is not a daring prophecy. The relations between the various parties involved in ODR are more diverse and complicated than offline, both practically and legally.

This article provides an analysis that stretches further than the two disputing parties and the Third Party. Several scenarios of the relationships between the various parties are analysed. One party is not human, the Fourth Party, commonly used to denote technology. In this paper it is argued that the concept of a Fifth Party as the provider of the technology is needed to understand all possible legal and practical relations.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 13

Keywords: ODR, disputes, conflicts

working papers series