| Abstract |
It is only natural that the rise of e-commerce is coupled with an increasing number
of disputes; eBay alone has seen a record 60 million cases opened under its online dispute-resolution (‘ODR’) scheme. While this can be regarded as
the first step towards the creation of an online rule-
of-law, such ODR mechanisms are often shrouded in
uncertainty.
In that regard, this paper explores ODR mechanisms
in both established, and in, what we describe as ‘informal’ marketplaces, such as commerce on Reddit and Discord. This paper first asks whether these
ODR mechanisms give rise to its own jurisprudence
possibly inconsistent with “offline” rules of law, and
whether such a bifurcation of “online” and “offline” rules of law is normatively desired. Next, it then queries the limitations of various policies and regulations
which attempt to strengthen ODR mechanisms. It
contends that various policies are disconnected from
their practical implementation and constraints which
ODR platforms face.
Ultimately, it concludes that a more nuanced approach is required if such frameworks were to be harmonised across Courts through the proposed taxonomy. Current international recommendations, while
a good starting point, should be condensed to certain principles which may be adopted across platforms, while preserving site-autonomy across different types of platforms.
|
