The Effect of Online Technologies on Dispute Resolution System Design: Antecedents, Current Trends and Future Directions

Abstract

English Abstract: Online dispute resolution (ODR) technologies are now increasingly used by courts, administrative agencies, companies and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) organizations to handle cases in various legal domains. Two decades have passed since the first ODR systems were launched and their impact on access to justice and the delivery of justice has evolved to a great extent. This Article offers an overview and analysis of these developments. First, it discusses the pragmatic and ideological antecedents of ODR: developments in information technology and online activity, and the rise of the effective access to justice and alternative dispute resolution movements. Second, it proposes a typological framework for evaluating ODR systems in terms of dispute types, resolution methods, settings, technologies, providers, and process designs. It then uses the framework to systematically analyze the current landscape of ODR, offering specific examples of ODR systems that demonstrate the effects that technology has had on dispute resolution process design: procedural transposition, restructuring and novelty. The Article closes with a critical discussion of current trends and future directions of ODR, including transition from private to public ODR, hybrid process designs, crowd-sourced cyber-juries, connecting ODR with reputation systems, and data-driven ODR learning systems.

Keywords: ODR, Online Dispute Resolution, Dispute Resolution, Dispute System Design, Dispute Management, Process Design, Legal Technology, Legal Innovation, Disruptive Technology