CJC sets up advisory group for online dispute resolution

The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has set up a new advisory group to explore the role that online dispute resolution can play in resolving civil disputes.

Chaired by Professor Richard Susskind OBE, the advisory group comprises leading academics with a special interest in ODR, legal and mediation practitioners and business and Civil Service policy and operational representatives.

Online dispute resolution (ODR) involves the resolution of disputes across the internet, using techniques such e-negotiation and e-mediation.

The advisory group will review the potential and limitations of the use of ODR for resolving civil disputes with a value of less than £25,000 in England and Wales and undertake an initial cost/benefit analysis of ODR as an alternative and accessible means of resolving disputes.

It will also attempt to categorise existing forms of ODR and begin the policy process of considering options for ODR provision and regulation. Its terms of reference also call for the group to examine the overlap between ODR and virtual courts and asks the group to consider likely technological developments and their effect.

Professor Susskind said: "ODR is already used widely. Perhaps its best known application is on eBay where, each year, over 60 million disagreements amongst traders are resolved using online techniques and not the courts. The CJC advisory group will be looking at the wider potential for ODR. Can it resolve disputes amicably without the expense and trauma of parties having to go to court?

"We are also going to explore the limitations and drawbacks of ODR ­ while our starting place is that ODR offers great potential, especially for sorting out lower value claims, there will inevitably be issues that need flagging up to protect consumers and businesses."

The chairman of the CJC, Lord Dyson, the Master of the Rolls, said: "The CJC is always interested in exploring ways for improving the civil justice system and making it more accessible. Online dispute resolution certainly offers opportunities for doing this, and we await the report of Richard Susskind's group with great interest."

The working group will prepare a report for the Civil Justice Council with recommendations for next steps or further research required.

The membership of the working group is as follows:

  • Professor Richard Susskind (Chairman)
  • Dr Pablo Cortés, University of Leicester
  • Adrian Dally, Financial Ombudsman Service.
  • Paul Harris, HM Courts and Tribunals Service
  • Dr Julia Hornie, Queen Mary University of London
  • Matthew Lavy, Barrister
  • Nick Mawhinney, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
  • David Parkin, Ministry of Justice
  • Dr Sue Prince, University of Exeter
  • Graham Ross, lawyer and mediator
  • Beth Silver, Barclays Bank (and CJC member)
  • Roger Smith, researcher, journalist and consultant
  • Tim Wallis, independent mediator
  • Peter Farr (Secretary to the Civil Justice Council)