
Online Dispute Resolution
Law’s Future in the Digital Age
Published: 2025
Pages: 296
eBook: 9781837230600
A worldwide revolution in dispute resolution is unfolding. Public justice systems are turning to offer fair access to a fundamental human right: justice online. Online Dispute Resolution looks at this fundamental change that the digital revolution has brought and will bring to the provision of legal services.
Online Dispute Resolution looks at one aspect of the fundamental changes that the digital revolution has brought and will bring to the provision of legal services. Written by Dr Max Barrett, a judge of the High Court of Ireland, the book considers how, to an increasing extent, a worldwide revolution in dispute resolution is unfolding with many legal disputes now being resolved remotely by way of online dispute resolution. And it proceeds on the basis that, as part of that global ‘resolution revolution’, courts as we have known them are destined to be consigned to history’s cabinet of curiosities as public justice systems turn to offer fair access to a fundamental human right: justice online.
Interested readers will learn about:
The ongoing transformation of legal services: the book considers how digitalisation is transforming the traditional legal ecosystem, changing the very nature of court-administered justice.
The global revolution in dispute resolution: the book examines the worldwide shift towards online dispute resolution (ODR), emphasising how legal disputes are increasingly being resolved remotely through digital platforms.
The continuing evolution of court systems: the book suggests that traditional court systems are becoming to some extent obsolete as public justice systems transition to online platforms.
The access to justice implications of e-justice: the book explores how ODR ensures broader access to justice as a fundamental human right, making legal resolution more accessible to people regardless of location.
The future of public justice systems: the book provides insights into the future trajectory of public justice systems, highlighting the shift towards digital solutions and the implications presenting as regards the future administration of justice.
The book will be of interest to judges, lawyers, court administrators, and anyone with an interest in where the future of court-administered systems of justice likely lies.
Table of Contents
Cover | Cover | |
---|---|---|
Title Page | 1 | |
Copyright | 2 | |
Dedication | 3 | |
Contents | 5 | |
Acknowledgements | 9 | |
Preface | 11 | |
1. ODR in brief | 15 | |
2. The courtroom redefined | 25 | |
3. The Susskind and Briggs Reports | 35 | |
4. Two UK examples of ODR in action | 51 | |
5. ODR in the United States | 61 | |
6. The US National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution | 73 | |
7. The California Access to Justice Commission and the future of legal technology | 81 | |
8. Two US examples of ODR in action | 91 | |
9. Three Canadian examples of ODR in action | 105 | |
10. ODR and the European Union | 121 | |
11. ODR and China | 135 | |
12. ODR and artificial intelligence | 145 | |
13. Blockchain | 159 | |
14. Cybersecurity and chatbots | 173 | |
15. Guidelines on ODR mechanisms | 183 | |
16. Two European charters | 191 | |
17. ODR and people in need | 203 | |
18. Domain name dispute resolution | 211 | |
19. ODR and specific sectors | 221 | |
20. Conclusion | 239 | |
Appendix: ODR and international bodies | 243 | |
Notes | 257 | |
Bibliography | 263 | |
Index | 273 | |
About the author | 281 | |
By the same author: The Art and Craft of Judgment Writing: A Primer for Common Law Judges, Second Edition | 282 | |
About Globe Law and Business | 288 |
The Honourable Mr Justice Max Barrett is a judge of the High Court of Ireland.
He holds a degree in law from Trinity College Dublin, a first-class master's in competition law from King's College London, a PhD in law from the University of Salford (having won a full scholarship) and a first-class master's in children's literature from Dublin City University. He also holds a variety of postgraduate diplomas on various aspects of law. He has written and spoken widely on all manner of legal topics.
When not lawyering or writing, Max is a keen amateur watercolourist.