FUTURE PROOFING ODR – A CRITICAL REVIEW OF KEY PROCESSES IN A MODERN TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD

Abstract

This dissertation explores the Online Dispute Resolution field, bringing in a broader concept of the method and critical analysis of its current situation in Europe. It will take into consideration the EU ODR platform as the central scope of the work, walking through the historical barriers faced and the legal challenges to its progress. The actual ODR market position in Europe will be critically assessed in order to future proof it. This research aims to answer the question: Can we trust the online methods as the future of Alternative Dispute Resolution? For the sake of this work, the positivism philosophy was adopted from the hypothesis that ODR is already the future. Furthermore, the approach chosen to conduct this research was deductive. The data collected respects the mixed method, which includes qualitative and quantitative data. A case study was the strategy adopted in this research as it has the EU ODR platform as the main focus, but includes other private platforms as a way to show different perspectives in the ODR environment. From the abovementioned, it was concluded that the ODR future in Europe is promising, as it has the potential to be the most used dispute resolution tool for consumer's cross-border disputes, although it has to overcome some cultural and legal barriers that have the scope to protect the users' rights, it is also a progress setback.