• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.25-46
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• 2015

Cross-border consumer disputes are on the increase as cross-border trade between consumers and businesses continues to grow. Cross-border consumer disputes are difficult to solve, because there are different languages, laws and institutions between the parties. These consumer disputes can be solved more easily by Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in comparison with utilizing court processes. ODR is a branch of dispute resolution which uses technology to facilitate the resolution of disputes between parties. It primarily involves negotiation, mediation or arbitration, or a combination of all three. In this respect it is often seen as being the online equivalent of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). On 18 June 2013, the new legislation on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Dispute Resolution has been published - the "Directive on Consumer ADR and Regulation on Consumer ODR". The new legislation on ADR and ODR will allow consumers and traders to solve their disputes without going to court, in a quick, low-cost and simple way. The United Nations working group for online dispute resolution of cross-border electronic commerce transactions (UNCITRAL Working Group III) has been underway since 2010 to continue its work on procedural rules for ODR.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.249-275
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• 2018

Today's Internet environment is growing rapidly, and transactions based on it are also rapidly increasing. E-commerce allows merchants and consumers in different countries to easily trade goods across borders. However, the increase in international consumer transactions through the Internet is accompanied by an increase in disputes. International consumer transactions are characterized by a distinction among long distance, small sum, and different jurisdictions. International consumer transactions cannot be solved only by way of resolving disputes in past international transactions. The best way to resolve disputes between international carriers and consumers is through the Internet. In this regard, UNCITRAL has been preparing to enact legislation on ODR as a solution to international electronic trade disputes and, as a result, UNCITRAL adopted guidelines for operating the ODR procedure for building the ODR platform. The European Union has also increased its disputes in the European Union, which is active in the intra-regional market. Institutional improvements were made to solve this problem; therefore, the European Union (EU) has enacted the ODR Regulations for EU consumer disputes. Based on such, this study constructed the ODR platform, which is used as a way to resolve consumer disputes in the regional market.