ODR – A Revolution In The Legal Industry

We tend to do a lot of work online isn’t. From grocery shopping to finding a life partner through shadi.com.

Then why can’t we solve our disputes online too. Well, ODR is not a facade of our imagination any more. Online Dispute resolution is accessible to all no matter where you are regardless of your proximity to a court

It is profound way to legal aid and has been recently supported by eminent Indian personalities, let’s have a look at them.

Sir Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog said that “ODR is a means of facilitating access to justice and means of doing business by making dispute resolution cheaper, quicker and most importantly equally credible as conventional methods of justice”i

Hon’ble Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud said -“ I think there has to be a fundamental change in the mindset. We must look upon dispute resolution not as relatable to a place namely a court the traditional physical court where justice is administered but as a service which is availed off”ii

NITI Aayog, policy think tank of the Government of India; launched the first-of-its-kind Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) handbook on Saturday (10 April) 2021.

Agami is a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities to radically reshape systems of law and justice. They also released Online Dispute Resolution (ODR Handbook) on 10 April 2021 . This Handbook was produced by inputs from the RBI, SEBI , NITI Ayog, ICICI bank etc.

So, what is ODR and why is everybody talking about it?

Online Dispute Resolution, or ODR, is a mechanism to resolve disputes through the use of electronic communications and other information and communication technology. It often uses alternate dispute resolution tools such as negotiation, mediation and arbitration.

Technically speaking ,

Technology + mechanisms of dispute resolution such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation, and arbitration = ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) What is the need of this? It is important because:

? Over 4.70 crore cases pending in Indian courts iii

? Traditional litigation in India can be time consuming, expensive and laborious . for instance, Resolving a dispute in India takes, on average, 1445 days.iv

? Processes like ODR limits the kind of disputes that often come to courts in the first place. Infact Hon’ble Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud went on to claim alternative dispute resolution As appropriate dispute resolution.v

? ODR can be beneficial for the expansion of the economy for the businesses looking for quick and efficient resolution and even for individuals to whom traditional means of dispute resolution seem too onerous and inaccessible

? The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that large segments of society were unable to access justice in a timely manner. Covid taught us that maximum things can be done online. Now especially with the coming up of AI we have all the tools in place to make a revolution in the legal field in the name of ODR

Digital era of Indian judiciary

During the pandemic, 25 lakh virtual hearings took place in various Indian courts, with the Supreme Court alone accounting for 9000 of them. vi

As ODR absorbs the bulk of civil cases, the judiciary gets freed up to focus on those matters that cannot and should not be moved out of our courtrooms. In other words, ODR ensures that the judiciary does not have to divert its attention from the most important disputes facing the nation.

By 2025, a well-implemented and widely accepted ODR program can expand the Indian economy by up to USD 26 billion INR 199,000 crore) each year. The extent of economic gain will depend on the quantum of cases that go to ODRvii.

88% of all civil cases can potentially be resolved by ODR.viii

ODR does a particularly good job of improving access to dispute resolution for the vulnerable. These include:

Women, who typically face disproportionately severe time and mobility constraints.

The elderly and people with disabilities who also have mobility constraints.

The poor and the marginalised because they do not have to invest a prohibitive amount of money and time.

ODR will create a large amount of jobs because obliviously more mediators, arbitrators and intermediaries will be required to support access to ODR and navigate through it on behalf of clients. The tribe of ODR service-providers is growing in number and stature like YesSettle, Sama, Webnyay, Resolve Disputes Online (RDO)etc.

Real Testimony of ODR usage

ODR has already been integrated in various countries such as US, Canada, Brazil, and the UAE wherein the government, the judiciary and private institutions are working together to reap the benefits of ODR towards enabling greater access to justice to the masses.

Brazil

Brazil's “Consumidor” platform has resolved over 2 million consumer disputes in 5 years. Due to its simple procedures and intuitive user interfaces, the platform has become the defacto gateway for dispute resolutions between consumers and companies.ix

United States

Ecommerce platforms like eBay have built deep expertise on ODR eBay resolves around 60 million disputes via ODR per year. x

Use Of ODR In Indian Judiciary

On 22 August 2020, the Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) conducted its first ever Online Lok Adalat. Using the ODR platform built by a Bangalore-based ODR service provider. Over 350 courts from 37 districts across the state, settled disputes online through video conferencing and e-signatures. A total of 33,546 matters were settled, with the total settlement amount crossing INR 270 crores.

On 8 August 2020, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) conducted a first-ofits-kind, prototype "E-Lok Adalat" through a Bangalore-based ODR service-provider.8112 cases were taken up, primarily relating to money/debt recovery, motor vehicle and electricity disputes. The aggregate settlement amount of these cases was INR 46 crores.xi

AI (artificial intelligence) and ODR

Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of UK and EU Settled the terms for Brexit.

The most irrefutable testimony of how far AI has come along was seen in the ‘Brexit’ negotiations between the UK and the European Union.

Undoubtedly conference’s most miraculous moment was watching an AI system, “SmartSettle”, negotiate Brexit.

At the first instance algorithm was fed with large amounts of data on 10 major headings, from fisheries to the Irish border, with the most profitable outcome producing the greatest score. Then each side negotiated internally to produce its ‘ideal world’ position, and a very high score. Unfortunately, neither ideal world was acceptable to the other, so there followed a series of trades. The platform had ability to show negotiators the impact of each trade not only on their own side but on the other as well . So, in minutes each side can map out the BATNA and WATNA for itself and its counterpart.

Hence both the parties reached the efficiency frontier’; meaning each side benefits as much as possible without harming the other and finally the deal was done.

So, you saw how AI and ODR combinedly helped with solving such a dispute?

If a human would have been on its place it would have taken another 3 years to negotiate Brexit. xii

Conclusion

The average time taken to solve A Loan dispute via courts takes 3 years ,Via traditional ADR takes 1 year but With ODR it takes just 45 days.

Pramod Rao, Group General Counsel, ICICI Bank says-"For ICICI Bank, the real value of ODR lies in the immense time savings. Being able to resolve a case in as little as a month puts us in a much superior position vis-a-vis our previous dispute resolution options."xiii

It is no doubt that sincere efforts are being made by Indian judiciary to solve existing disputes between parties, but India has only 21 judges per million populationxiv.

There is severe paucity of judges in India and hence advancement , adoption and development of ODR becomes necessary for overall economic development and to facilitate access of justice to the masses.

i NITI Aayog, Launch of the Online Dispute Resolution Handbook, YouTube (Apr. 10, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/live/5hP1YZ3FPg4?feature=share.

ii NITI Aayog, Launch of the Online Dispute Resolution Handbook, YouTube (Apr. 10, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/live/5hP1YZ3FPg4?feature=share.

iii The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/over-4-70-crore-cases-pending-invarious-courtsgovt/articleshow/90447554.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst, Last Updated: Mar 25, 2022, visited on – 9th July 2033

iv Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 17 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/.

v NITI Aayog, Launch of the Online Dispute Resolution Handbook, YouTube (Apr. 10, 2021), https://www.youtube.com/live/5hP1YZ3FPg4?feature=share.

vi Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 11 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/.

vii Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 27 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

viii Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 28 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

ix Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 34 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

x Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 35 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

xi Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 83 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

xii Charlie Irvine (University of Strathclyde), “BREXIT negotiated? Online dispute resolution will be more than an alternative” , Kluwer Mediation Blog, published on – 16th December 2018 , Brexit Negotiated? Online Dispute Resolution will be more than an alternative - Kluwer Mediation Blog (kluwerarbitration.com), accessed on – 10th July 2023.

xiii Agami(NGO), Online Dispute Resolution Shifting from disputes to resolution (ODR handbook), page cited- 70 of 96 , published on – 10th April 2021, https://disputeresolution.online/

xiv The Economic Times, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/india-has-21-judges-per-millionpopulationgovt/articleshow/97559581.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst, Last Updated: Feb 02, 2023, visited on 8th July 2023.