Alternatyvūs ginčų sprendimo būdai internetu (Online ADR)

Recent developments of the possibilities of information technology application in the field of law are crucial for today’s modern approach towards better resolution of disputes. Nevertheless it is not some kind of the revolution in the rules of procedure. Firstly, the “paper world” is still strongly dominating among courts, lawyers and their clients. Secondly, only the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems are more or less open to the new methods of conflict resolution. Thirdly, only disputes related to the “computer world” (eg. domain name disputes) are considered to be appropriate when settling disputes out of court. The author of this article provides an overview of online ADR in the world and in Lithuania through recent years. The article consists of three parts. The first part deals with theoretic background of online alternative dispute resolution (online ADR). The author presents the statistics about the transactions in the internet and assumes the great number of possible disputes that may often arise from the new relationships between the members of information society. Online ADR advantages and disadvantages are analysed comparing to face-to-face dispute resolution. The terminology issues of online ADR are presented. The main ways of online ADR are pointed out: online negotiation, online mediation, online arbitration and online expert research. The second part of the article is devoted to legal acts and its analysis: the main international documents and initiatives concerning online ADR are observed. The author concludes that international documents usually confirm the main principles of online ADR in the case of business-toconsumer e-commerce: timeliness, transparency, accessibility, low or no cost to consumer, qualifications and impartiality of ADR providers. The second part of the article is finished with the analysis of certain legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania and the presentation of common situation in the field. In the third part of the article a special issue has been introduced, i. e. domain name dispute resolution. The author analyses the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, adopted and approved by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).