Back to Lesson Index



Lesson 80 - Dispute Resolution in Cyberspace

Online Dispute Resolution

[In the next few messages we will focus not on the specific rules applicable to conduct in cyberspace, but on the processes through which disputes about that conduct might get resolved. We have asked the leading expert on this topic, Prof. Ethan Katsh of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, to be our "guest lecturer" for this portion of the course.]

What should you do if you do get embroiled in a dispute that is important to you and that seems resistant to settlement without outside help? One noteworthy development in 1996 was the establishment of several projects in cyberspace that provide assistance for persons involved in online disputes. Before you run to your lawyer, you might want to consult the Virtual Magistrate Project, the Online Ombuds Office, or the University of Maryland Family Law Project.

  1. The Virtual Magistrate Project http://vmag.law.vill.edu:8080 offers arbitration for disputes involving (1) users of online systems, (2) those who claim to be harmed by wrongful messages, postings, or files and (3) system operators (to the extent that complaints or demands for remedies are directed at system operators). The goal of the project is to have the arbitrator issue a ruling very quickly.

  2. The Online Ombuds Office http://www.ombuds.org provides mediation to parties involved in conflict. The Web site developer/newspaper dispute that was mentioned in the first message was mediated successfully by the Online Ombuds Office and a transcript of the online mediation process is at http://www.ombuds.org/narrative1.html

  3. The Family Law Mediation project is accessible a http://www.mediate-net.org and is a particularly useful resource for persons involved in family disputes but who are live in different real world communities.

Each of these projects suggests that, over time, law-related Web sites will not only be places to obtain information, but will also be places for interacting with others and dealing with problems. If the Net is increasingly a place where we do business, fulfill obligations (see http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/rmv/express/index.htm), "meet" clients and colleagues, and study and do research, then it should also be a place where processes for dispute resolution will be close by and accessible, and problems arising out of online activities can be confronted (see, for example, http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/itd/legal/adr.htm).

The three online ADR projects *the Virtual Magistrate, Online Ombudsman, and Family Law Mediation* begun last year bring fairly traditional approaches to conflict resolution to the Net. Yet, they can also be expected to evolve and to try to exploit any enhancements in the speed and intelligence of online tools. As this occurs, we may see processes of dispute resolution that are not only attuned to the online environment but that may encourage change in how we work out problems in the physical world as well.


authors:

Ethan KatshLarry LessigDavid PostEugene Volokh



Back to Lesson Index

Copyright © 1999 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved