On line Dispute Resolution in the era of the Artificial Intelligence.

December 2018
By George Tserkezis, Dr.Jur., Attorney at Law

The use of internet and today’s digital tools –including blockchain- facilitates not only collecting and treating incredible masses of data related to often rising disputes and studying their patterns, but also can shape the optimal ways to address those problems.

Ordinary dispute resolution by courts or mediators implies physical presence and performance in face-to-face encounters, within a particular jurisdiction,subject to complex procedural rules,with the force of state ensuring the enforcement of any judgement or resolution. When it comes to legal help, often people are left with no meaningful legal support in what can be a complex and confusing system. Access to justice has become a major issue for a lot of low-income citizens.The already existing judicial system of dispute resolution suffers from an overload of cases. For a court,a dispute requires a certain amount of time to resolve and for its clerk’s office handling requires sufficient personnel and significant means. As a matter of fact, justice systems are increasingly turning to digital technologies to allow broader access,to succeed cost savings and gain more efficiency.
The use of internet and today’s digital tools –including blockchain- seems to be promising, for example in collecting incredible masses of data related to often rising disputes and studying their patterns. When collected and analyzed, these patterns can help identify their common sources of problems that matter to a specific community.It can search in case law databases for adequate solutions. It can shape the optimal ways to address those problems, and it can help to assess the actual impact of a particular solution.
Aware of this potential, a lot of operators around the world have integrated A.I. in their platforms with ever-increasing frequency.Many people or businesses, enhancing trust in these platforms , now seize costless, quick and efficient resolution of their conflicts through digital judicial systems,transforming the way in which disputes are handled. Originally being conceived to resolve on-line disputes,ODR platforms have turned towards an intelligent system, an algorithm designed to enable settlements by suggesting outcomes or even provide decisions itself. Actually,several platforms provide automated dispute resolution, thus eliminating the involvement of human factor. They even provide their own enforcement tools.
ODR’s main features, such as the capacity of quick handling all manner and volume of cases, from simple debt cases to complex legal matters could be useful for the development of automated dispute resolution mechanisms by public courts.With this technology, the time and cost required to resolve a conflict could drop impressively both for the state and the litigants.
Actually many countries around the world recognised that the technology landscape has shifted dramatically in the past decade, bringing with it exciting changes and opportunities that could potentially be leveraged by government to transform their justice systemt to better achieve its objectives. UK,China,Singapore,Austria Estonia,Slovakia,Finland have already implemented automated digital tools in their justice systems. The confluence of several information technology trends is changing this technology landscape: ultra sophisticated mobile smart devices and connectability allow access to such mechanisms of dispute resolution. Blockchain and artificial intelligence, challenge to ensure contract execution and speed up judicial decisions.
The expansion of digital technologies over recent years made it easier for legal professionals to have access and collaborate with the courts and administrative authorities and improve efficiency through interoperability between the existing national ICT solutions.Now it is time for the next step of the digital evolution : the implementation of A.I. in state decision-making system.