ODR in Europe
May 2013
This chapter is from "Online Dispute Resolution Theory and Practice," Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Ethan Katsh & Daniel Rainey ( Eds.), published, sold and distributed by Eleven International Publishing. The Hague, Netherlands at: www.elevenpub.com.
As with any new technology, the boom of ODR services in Europe over the past decade has nevertheless been accompanied by some delay in achieving its full potential, possibly as a result of an of underestimation by its original pioneers of the marketing effort and investment required to attract adequate numbers of early adopters. While ODR services rose to thirty-eight sites in 2004, some of them were no longer, even at that time, providing services. In addition, it has to be borne in mind that a review of the list shows that many were well established, and still continuing, ADR organizations or business associations who were at that time simply engaged initiatives to examine the future that technology could offer rather than launching a committed and specific ODR service.
Since 2004, Europe has, notwithstanding, continued to be not only at the forefront of ODR development and usage but also a leading centre for ODR research and discussion. At present, the current state of the art of ODR in Europe constitutes an opportunity to instill realism into the enthusiastic forecasts whilst still making significant progress with making ODR services the default systems to resolve online disputes as well as colonizing off-line domains.
This paper offers an overview of the present situation of ODR in Europe and discusses effective development of ODR deployments to handle online, offline, national and cross-border disputes in Europe. To do so, we proceed by first defining the scope of ODR and reviewing existing services. We then continue by analyzing the major challenges faced by ODR in Europe and finally conclude by suggesting some future scenarios.
ADR in Europe (poblet_ross.pdf) |
![]() Graham Ross is a UK lawyer and accredited mediator with over 30 years experience in IT and the law. Graham is the leading UK expert in the field of ODR (Online Dispute Resolution). He co-founded the UK's first ODR service, a blind bidding service called We Can Settle in 2000, and two years later the online mediation service The Mediation Room. He is a Fellow of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution at UMass (Amhurst)?. Graham is a member of two Working Groups of the UK Civil Justice Council? ? being those on Alternative Dispute Resolution and on Online Dispute Resolution. Graham co-wrote the Report of the ODR Working Group which triggered the current moves? in the UK? to an online court.? Graham developed and runs the leading training course in applying technology to ADR ?at www.ODRTraining.com? ? |
![]() Marta Poblet is the director of the UAB Institute of Law and Technology, where she coordinates a number of research projects dealing with law and technology, judicial systems, legal professions, and alternative dispute resolution systems. She holds a J.D. from the Stanford University (Stanford Law School,2002) and a M.A. in International Legal Studies (Stanford Law School, 2000). She is also a past Fellow of the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (2001). Her research interests cover technology-oriented developments in legal organizations, judicial systems, mediation systems, online dispute resolution (ODR) and, more recently, mobile dispute resolution (an emerging field that focuses on the use of mobile phones and cell networks to facilitate the management and resolution of conflicts). |