Building a Global ODR System for Consumer Disputes

The ODR and Consumers 2010 Forum was held in Vancouver on November 2 and 3, 2010. The Forum (ODRAC) was convened in response to recent proposals advanced by delegations to the United Nations (UNCITRAL) and the Organization of American States. These proposals have begun to outline model rules for a global resolution system to handle cross-border, low value disputes. This work is perfectly in line with ongoing initiatives in the European Union (e.g. European network of consumer centers ECC-NET and European Extra-Judicial Network – EEJ-NET) and the Asia-Pacific region (e.g. the Global Trustmark Alliance). This meeting in Vancouver was the first attempt to join all of these regional conversations into a single dialogue focused on how this global, online, low value resolution system could become a reality.

The full agenda for the meeting is available here with all of the presentations available next to the names of the presenters. The final report from the meeting is currently being edited and will be released in the next few weeks. The first meeting of the UNCITRAL ODR Working Group will take place in mid-December.

Key organizers and sponsors of the meeting included ADR.EU, PayPal, Adobe, the Law Society of British Columbia, ICANN Office of the Ombudsman, the National Centre for Technology and Dispute Resolution and the Canadian Centre for Court Technology (CCCT).