LIJDLR

FROM ADR TO ODR: EXAMINING ONLINE ARBITRATION, LEGAL CHALLENGES, AND DATA PROTECTION CONCERNS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Shruchi Prasad, 4th year BA.LLB. (Hons.) Student, Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi NCR (India)

Prerna Kumari, 4th year BA.LLB. (Hons.) Student, Christ (Deemed to be University), Delhi NCR (India)

“When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?” by Benjamin Franklin. ODR websites have become an unavoidable tool within the modern online environment, as it is necessitated to enable risky conflict management within the online business and international transactions setting. ODR combines the classical Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) practices such as arbitration, mediation and negotiation with high-tech innovation. In this script, ADR is examined and the development of ADR into ODR is explored with a specific focus on online arbitration. Even though the process of digitalization has significant advantages to the arbitration process, it also presents an extensive array of complex challenges that requires careful consideration. Major concerns include weak cybersecurity, data confidentiality, procedural fairness, technological access difference between disagreeing parties, enforceability of arbitration decisions, and lack of face-to-face communication. The paper explores the issue of data protection in the digital environment, clarifying the basic concepts of data protection and the issues that appear due to the current enforcement systems in the domain of online arbitration. It also reflects on how applicable rules like the GDPR are to an arbitration process, especially in international disputes relating to the cross-border cases where jurisdictional and compliance facts are often raised. This paper will discuss the process in which the legal systems of the EU, India and US are moving toward online disputes resolution (ODR) and online arbitration by comparing the three legal systems. It outlines defensive safeguards to the safety of party data and achieving equitable results, and offers remedies to enhance confidence, transparency, and efficiency in technology-driven procedures that do not reduce the fundamentals of arbitration in the age of technology.

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Research Paper LawFoyer International Journal of Doctrinal Legal Research (LIJDLR), Volume 4, Issue 3, Page 615–638.
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