Innovative initiatives for online arbitration are needed to aid in resolving cross-border commercial and consumer disputes in the EU, UK, US and China. This book provides a comparative study of online dispute resolution (ODR) systems and a model of best practices, taking into consideration the features and characteristics of various practical experiences/examples of ODR services and technological development for ODR systems and platforms. The book begins with a theoretical approach, looking into the challenges in the use of online arbitration in commercial transactions and analysing the potential adoption of technology-assisted arbitration (e.g. Basic ODR systems and Intelligent/Advanced ODR systems) in resolving certain types of international commercial and consumer disputes. It then investigates the legal obstacles to adopting ODR by examining the compatibility of technology with current legislation and regulatory development. Finally, it suggests appropriate legal and technological measures to promote the recognition of ODR, in particular online arbitration, for cross-border commercial and consumer disputes. By exploring both the theoretical framework and the practical considerations of online arbitration, this book will be a vital reference for lawyers, policy-makers, government officials, industry professionals and academics who are involved with online arbitration.

This book presents an overview of online arbitration and electronic contracting worldwide, examining their national and international contexts, and assessing their ongoing relevance. It offers solutions to the salient challenges facing both online arbitration and electronic contracting, dealing firstâ "hand with online arbitration as an online dispute resolution technique for solving both traditional and electronic commerce disputes that may arise out of the breach of contractual obligations in international commercial contracts, while also comparing between common law and civil law countries. In the theory of law, this book analyses the international legal framework that regulates eâ "commerce, and its impact on electronic contracting, including Model Laws and International Conventions such as the Model Law on Electronic Commerce of 1996 and the Electronic Communications Convention of 2005. It also investigates whether the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 1980 â ~The CISGâ (TM) applies to eâ "commerce contracts. In addition, it extensively examines the possibility for the enforcement of online arbitration agreements and online arbitral awards under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. Regarding the practice of law, the volume examines how national courts apply both national laws and the New York Convention of 1958 when dealing with the enforcement of online arbitration agreements, and whether courts apply the provisions of national laws of arbitration liberally. As such, it encourages the adoption of a more liberal judicial regime in favour of the enforcement of online arbitral awards and online arbitration agreements in national courts. This book represents a valuable resource for academics, arbitrators, practicing lawyers, corporate counsels, law students, researchers, and professionals who are willing to solve their crossâ "border commercial disputes through online arbitration.

In a world governed by speed, the Internet plays a growing role in many of today's innovations, and the resolution of disputes using electronic means of communication may soon be part of everyday legal practice. This book offers a survey of the current state of play in online dispute resolution, from the methods and information technology currently in use to the range of regulatory solutions proposed by shareholders. Taking their analysis a step further, the authors also address this new field's most pressing issues, including possible amendments of existing legislation, treaties, and arbitration and other ADR rules. Online Dispute Resolution: Challenges for Contemporary Justice is an in-depth study of online dispute resolution today, discussing among other topics: the different methods of ODR; fields of use; ways to bring parties to online dispute resolution; validity and effects of clauses entered into online and providing for online mediation or arbitration; issues surrounding electronic communications and evidence in arbitration; and, enforcement of online dispute resolution outcomes, both through court proceedings and built-in enforcement mechanisms. This book also covers issues related to security and e-commerce in general. As a special feature, it contains a section on existing online dispute resolution providers, complete with interviews and statistics. Online Dispute Resolution: Challenges for Contemporary Justice is a significant resource for legal counsel, to arbitral institutions, ODR and ADR service providers, governments and governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as to those with a more academic interest. This book will provide a greater understanding of online dispute resolution to persons in the fields of arbitration and ADR, e-commerce, intellectual property, civil procedure, international law, international trade and commerce, and information technology.

An essential tool for dispute resolution professionals as well as for anyone considering using dispute resolution in their lives and work, Online Dispute Resolution explains the many diverse and unique applications of doing conflict resolution online. The expert authors examine the tremendous growth of online dispute resolution-including its use by eBay and other e-commerce companies-and reveal the enormous possibilities to come, along with the many employment opportunities for practitioners in the field. They show how the online environment will affect the role of those who are concerned with dispute resolution just as it has brought changes to those who practice law, sell stocks, or run for office. For those who see the value of technology as a critical building block in the future of dispute resolution, Online Dispute Resolution will be an indispensable resource.

Central to the book’s purpose is the procedural challenge facing arbitrators at each and every stage of the arbitral process when fairness arguments conflict with efficiency concerns and trade-offs must be determined. Some key themes include how can a tribunal be fair, and in particular be neutral, if parties are so diverse? How can arbitration be made efficient and cost-effective without undue inroads into fairness and accuracy? How does a tribunal do what is best if the parties are choosing a suboptimal process? When can or must an arbitrator ignore procedural choices made by the parties? The author thoroughly evaluates competing arguments and adds his own practical tips, expertly synthesizing and engaging with the conference literature and differing authors’ views. He identifies criteria that offer a harmonized approach to each stage of the arbitral process, with particular attention to such aspects of international arbitration as: appropriate trade-offs between flexibility and certainty; the rights, duties and powers of arbitrators; appointment and challenge of arbitrators; responses to ‘guerilla’ tactics; drafting of arbitration agreements, including specialty clauses; drafting of required commencement notices and response documents; set-off; fast track arbitration and other efficiency options; strategic use of preliminary conferences and timetabling; online arbitration; multi-party, multi-contract, class arbitration; amicus and third party funders; pre-arbitral referees and interim relief; witness evidence, both factual and expert; documentary evidence, production obligations, and challenges to production; identifying applicable law; and remedies and costs.

This book provides a state-of-the-art overview and assessment of the status quo and future of the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) field. International, comparative, and interdisciplinary approaches have been utilized. Written by leading ODR scholars, the first part of the book includes an in-depth assessment of ODR, its applications, and its future in a comparative and analytical context. The second section offers a regional oriented approach, where the prospects, challenges, and success of ODR - and its applications in the North America, Latin America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia - are mapped and fully addressed. The book is a must read text by scholars, practitioners, academics, and researchers in the dispute resolution and information technology field.

This book initiates a discussion of the law and practice of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in both common law and civil law countries. In terms of law, this book principally focuses on the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, and the harmony or clash between the New York Convention and national arbitration laws of both common law and civil law countries including the UK and the USA (as common law countries), and France, Germany and Greece (as civil law countries). In terms of practice, this book deeply and extensively examines the judicial application of the New York Convention in national courts of common law and civil law countries, and sheds light on the best practices related to the judicial application of the New York Convention, while also highlighting how future disputes can be resolved in national courts. As such, this book provides solutions for salient and recurring problems arising out of the erroneous judicial application or interpretation of the New York Convention by national courts, and encourages the adoption of a more liberal regime in favour of the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards generally, and the adoption of a more liberal interpretation of the New York Convention in national courts of both common law and civil law countries particularly. This book, which is based on more than 100 courts’ decisions from common law and civil law countries, is a valuable resource for academics, arbitrators, practicing lawyers, corporate counsels, law students and researchers interested in international commercial arbitration, as well as for business professionals involved in international trade, and those who are willing to solve their commercial disputes through arbitration.