The use of IT in resolving business and consumer disputes could put
the UK at the heart of a massive international industry - as long
as companies and lawyers increase both their awareness and
willingness to use this approach.
The UK is already a leader in this emerging field and a centre for
the settlement of international disputes, said barrister Jeremy
Barnett, chairman of the Bar Council's IT panel and organiser of a
conference on this topic supported by the BCS.
The London Court of International Arbitration used some element of
online dispute resolution in more than 8,000 cases between 2001 and
2004. And the number of cases in which it has used online
resolution from the outset has risen from three in 2001 to 200 in
2004.
Most cases have been consumer disputes about online purchasing.
Online resolution only started being used for commercial disputes
this year.
"The London Court of International Arbitration is using online
techniques to support human specialists, but other services have
emerged which, in effect, resolve cases themselves," Barnett said.
"Such systems show a high degree of sophistication in negotiation
and settlement skills, often relying on artificial
intelligence."
SmartSettle.com, for example, uses mathematical algorithms to help
find a resolution to disputes, creating an automated negotiation
tool. This creates a low-cost process for both parties.
SquareTrade.com, attached to eBay, also uses this technique and is
handling nearly a million cases a year.
"Online dispute resolution is at a critical stage in its
development," Barnett said. "Facilities and services must be
improved if lawyers and users from multinationals and government
departments to internet shoppers are to be persuaded of its
virtues.
"Even today, many would not think of turning to online dispute
resolution as an alternative to traditional litigation. A number of
lawyers and litigators are still reluctant to embrace new
technologies. And there is a lack of awareness among many business
people of the full power and cost-effectiveness in helping to
resolve disputes in a timely and private manner."
Barnett said future services could range from the simple exchange
of complaint and answer to the use of virtual trial or arbitration
hearing systems.
"Virtual trials or hearings will be able to support bulk
documentation transfer, storage and search tools, and remote users
with access to sophisticated graphics tools - all in a secure
environment," he said.
The UK is a leader in much of this, although it lags behind the US,
Barnett said.
A group at Leeds University, for example, is working on grid
technology and artificial intelligence to support online
resolution. The group is working with the London Court of
International Arbitration to bring together professional bodies,
industry, government and academics to establish the UK as a world
centre in this field.
London handles about 3,600 international dispute resolution cases a
year, involving £36bn in disputed money. "In 10 years' time, if the
investment is made, the UK could be at the heart of a world of
global dispute resolution industry, where people will be resolving
millions of disputes online,"said Barnett.
The IT Enhanced Dispute Resolution Conference, in Leeds on 11 May,
will cover the the business challenges, how emerging technology can
support trade mediations and arbitrations, and business
implementation
www.lgt-seminars.com