scholarly journals Online Dispute Resolution for Small Civil Claims in Victoria: A New Paradigm in Civil Justice

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 101-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivi Tan
Keyword(s):  
Due Process ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Online Dispute Resolution ◽  
Small Claims ◽  
Economic Constraints ◽  
Dispute System ◽  
Dispute System Design

This article seeks to explore some of the implications of integrating information and communications technology into judicial processes to resolve small civil claims. It argues that, as ODR moves from individual private-sector initiatives to widespread public sector institutionalisation, governance and value questions will need to be seriously considered. This is because questions regarding the appropriateness of the use of certain ODR systems in the resolution of small claims and consumer disputes persist, especially in relation to the use of systems which are fully autonomous. For example, how are fundamental due process requirements to be balanced against the economic constraints of resolving low value disputes? What are the limits to the evolution of civil justice to make it more accessible? It is argued that, while ODR holds vast potential for increasing access to justice, attention needs to be given to the dispute system design to ensure that it achieves that goal and does not result in the erosion of fundamental values of civil justice, including accessibility, transparency, legal validity and accountability.

Designing consumer redress: a dispute system design (DSD) model for consumer-to-business disputes

Legal Studies ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 438-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Gill ◽  
Jane Williams ◽  
Carol Brennan ◽  
Carolyn Hirst
Keyword(s):  
System Design ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Alternative Dispute Resolution ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Business Activity ◽  
Online Dispute Resolution ◽  
Dispute System ◽  
Dispute System Design

This paper proposes a model for designing consumer dispute resolution (CDR) mechanisms (including conciliation, adjudication, arbitration and ombuds schemes). This field has expanded significantly in recent years, replacing courts as the primary forum of dispute resolution in some areas of consumer-to-business activity. This expansion has been ad hoc, with a lack of consistency in the design of CDR mechanisms and in the overall shape of the CDR landscape. In light of the recent implementation of the EU's Directive on Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution and Regulation on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution, Dispute System Design (DSD) requires urgent attention to ensure that the design of future mechanisms is based on coherent principles. A failure to address this issue risks undermining the legitimacy of state-sanctioned dispute resolution. The model described in this paper proposes a systematic approach and aims to: synthesise existing DSD models; apply the concepts of DSD to the field of CDR; and provide a framework that may be of use in other disputing contexts.

Designing mediation for Scottish Civil Courts: Options and opportunity

2021 ◽  
pp. 205556362110247
Author(s):  
Margaret L Ross
Keyword(s):  
System Design ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Dispute System ◽  
Dispute System Design ◽  
Civil Justice System ◽  
Civil Courts ◽  
Resolution Processes ◽  
The Impact

In this article, the author examines whether the dispute resolution processes proposed in 2019 for civil courts in Scotland are suitable for the context of civil justice in Scotland in 2020 and the future. They are measured according to the policy context, what is known about the purposes of litigation, dispute system design and the needs and cultures of an adversarial civil justice system currently grappling with the impact of coronavirus restrictions.

Can You Hear Me Now? Attorney Perceptions of Interpretation, Technology, and Power in Immigration Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 233150242110347
Author(s):  
Maya P Barak
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Technology Improvement ◽  
Communication And Technology ◽  
And Linguistics ◽  
Legal Sociology

The Executive Office for Immigration Review houses America's trial-level immigration courts, which adjudicate hundreds of thousands of cases annually, many resulting in deportations. Most proceedings require interpretation and all rely heavily upon technology. Yet, we know little about communication and technology in these hearings, and even less about the views of attorneys who navigate this system daily. I examine the effects courtroom interpretation and technology have on immigrant voices as described in interviews with immigration attorneys representing clients facing deportation. Attorneys overwhelmingly characterize the court as procedurally unjust, pinpointing how flaws in interpretation, telephonic conferencing, and videoconferencing offer the illusion of due process. Drawing upon criminology, legal sociology, and linguistics, this study finds profound improvements are needed to ensure due process in the nation's immigration courts, including: Elimination of telephonic and videoconferencing in all but extreme circumstances. Modernization of telephonic and videoconference technology. Improvement of interpreter standards and working conditions. Education of attorneys, judges, and interpreters regarding challenges inherent to courtroom interpretation and technology. Although enhancing the quality of interpretation and technology protocols may improve immigrants’ access to justice in immigration court, meaningful immigration court reforms should reduce the need for an immigration court altogether.

scholarly journals Small Defamation Claims in Small Claims Jurisdictions: Worth Considering for the Sake of Proportionality?

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Gould
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Administration Of Justice ◽  
Small Claims ◽  
The Law ◽  
Defamation Law

Online communication continues to pose challenges for the law and the administration of justice. One such challenge concerns its propensity to give rise to small defamation claims between ordinary people given the often-enormous costs of litigating defamation claims before the ordinary courts. This article promotes a reform agenda directed to meeting this challenge by (1) demonstrating the need for a proportionate means for resolving small defamation claims, having regard to access to justice considerations and other wider concerns; (2) establishing reasonable grounds for seriously considering deploying the traditional small-claims-proportionate response – small claims jurisdictions – for this purpose notwithstanding contraindications including the infamous complexity of defamation law; and (3) advancing a research pathway for the proportionate treatment of small defamation claims to guide decision-making and innovation. This article also advocates for consideration of this important issue in the ‘national reform process’ launched in 2018 for Australian defamation law.

scholarly journals The 2010 Amendments and Hryniak v Mauldin: The Perspective of the Lawyers Who Have Lived Them

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 21-67
Author(s):  
Gerard J. Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Culture Shift

Through a survey of 90 lawyers with litigation experience, the author sought to determine the effects of recent amendments to Ontario procedural law [2010 Amendments] and a leading Supreme Court of Canada case [Hryniak] interpreting those amendments. The results were mixed. Most respondents viewed Hryniak and the 2010 Amendments as, overall, positive. But this was hardly a unanimous view. While Hryniak has certainly had effects, most respondents viewed the effectiveness of Hryniak and the 2010 Amendments to be limited, as other factors have intervened or remained as access to justice obstacles. While there was some perception that a culture shift has begun to emerge, the extent of that culture shift has been restricted. The responses did not lack all hope, but they ultimately suggest that the battle for access to civil justice must continue to be waged on multiple fronts.

The Past, Present, and Future of Online Dispute Resolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orna Rabinovich-Einy
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Court System ◽  
Current Application ◽  
Online Systems ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Online Dispute Resolution ◽  
And Function ◽  
Ongoing Evaluation ◽  
Careful Design

Abstract This article chronicles the evolution of the field of online dispute resolution from its inception in the mid-1990s to its current application in and outside the court system. While originally ODR played a modest role in the limited domain of e-commerce, over the years its application has expanded significantly, as have its form and function: from processes that have sought to replicate online equivalents to ones that reimagine the design of procedures to better fit party needs and to address the justice system’s longstanding problems. The article predicts that the future of ODR lies in increased automation, which includes artificial intelligence and various forms of structured negotiation, and, consequently, a reduced role for human third parties. This will require a rethinking of the ways in which access to justice, procedural justice and substantive justice can be realized. The key for realizing the values and goals of the justice system lies in the careful design and ongoing evaluation of online systems, activities that have themselves been transformed by technology and the availability of big data.

Why the Haves Come Out Further and Further Ahead: The Repeat Player Effect, Control over Dispute System Design, and Justice

2021 ◽  
pp. 290-294
Author(s):  
Lisa Blomgren Amsler
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
System Design ◽  
Women's College ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Senior Year ◽  
Dispute System ◽  
Dispute System Design

Let’s start at the beginning of the yellow brick road that led to the Repeat Player Effect paper. I skipped my senior year of high school to attend a women’s college (Smith) and double-majored in ancient Greek and philosophy, on account of which (cf. Sleepless in Seattle...

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