1. ODR for Cross-Border E-
Commerce Transactions
Oluwaseyi Oni
Head of Corporate Governance,
Jumia Group
2. What is E-Commerce?
The buying and selling of goods and services, or the
transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network,
primarily the Internet.
The purchasing, selling & exchanging of goods and services
over the internet through which transactions or terms of
sale are performed electronically.
3. Main Categories of E-Commerce
business-to-business (B2B)- Companies doing business with
each other.
business-to-consumer (B2C)- Businesses selling to the
general public.
consumer-to-consumer (C2C)- Consumers selling to other
consumers.
4. Features of E-Commerce
Ubiquity- Being everywhere at once.
Global Reach- not restricted by geographical barriers.
Universal Standards- To use E-Commerce features,
Individuals, businesses and governments all over the world
only use one set of technological, media and Internet
standards
Internet Richness- e-Commerce allows for the integration of
video, audio, animation, etc. much better than other
technologies (billboards, signs, etc.)
5. Features of E-Commerce (Cont.)
Interactivity- e-Commerce allows consumers to interact with
the content.
Information Density- e-Commerce technology reduces
information cost and raises the quality of the information.
Makes information accurate, inexpensive and plentiful.
Personalization/Customization- Technologies within e-
Commerce allow for personalization and customization of
marketing messages. The recipient receives messages
carefully tailored to their interests and needs.
6. Problems inherent in E-Commerce
Transactions
Problems inherent in Ecommerce Transactions
Susceptibility to Fraud
Lack of Trust
Logistics Infrastructure.
Payment systems.
Dependence of e-commerce businesses on the
ecosystem.
7. Customer: Tracking shows delivered but shipment not received
Amazon: Warmest greetings [...] my name is Thor.
Customer: Greetings, Thor. Can I be Odin?
Amazon: Odin, Father, How art thy doing on this here fine day?
Customer: Thor, my son. Agony raises upon my life.
Amazon: This is outrageous! Who dares defy The All Father Odin! What has
occurred to cause this agony?
Customer: I’m afraid the book I ordered to defeat our enemies has been
misplaced. How can we keep Valhalla intact without our sacred book?
AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION BETWEEN AN AMAZON CUSTOMER SERVICE
AGENT AND A CUSTOMER
8. Amazon: This is blasphemy! Wherever this book has been taken to, I
shall make it my duty to get it back to you! I fear it is Loki but I dare not
blame him for such things. I shall have your fortune returned to you and
thereafter we can create a new quest in order to get the book back to
you.
Customer: Very well my son.
Amazon: Allow me some time to round up my allies and complete this
my father.
Customer: Do it for me Thor, but most importantly do it for the mortals
whose destiny (and grades) rely on this book.
9. Amazon: Alas, the treasure has been returned to you. You now need to
reinstate your book into your archive so that you may yet receive it soon. I
shall have the Valkyrie deliver it to you as fast as their wings can move.
Customer: Ok so roleplay aside I have my money back and reorder the book?
Amazon: haha yes I have refunded you and you need to reorder the book.
Customer: Great!
Amazon: Have you placed the order
Customer: Let me do that … done
Amazon: Okay let me edit it for you [...] That good?
10. Customer: Wow hooking me up for one day delivery? Sweet!
Amazon: Haha yea man gotta get your book asap!
Customer: I’ve heard Amazon has great customer service and this
just proves it! thanks man
Amazon: No problem, is there any other issue or question that I
can help you with?
Customer: Nah that was it. Really appreciate it
Amazon: Anytime bro. Have a great day. Goodbye Odin
Customer: Bye my son.
11. Resolving Disputes arising from E-
Contracts across State Borders
The traditional means of resolving disputes is through the Law
Courts. Litigation would however not be suitable in resolving
online disputes arising from transactions across borders due to the
nature of these transactions.
Litigation by its very nature can be time consuming, expensive and
very stressful , and as a result would not be suitable for resolving
disputes arising from B2C E-contracts, as most of these disputes
are usually over small claims, compared to the cost that would be
incurred in litigation.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) would seem more suitable
than litigation in resolving disputes arising out of B2C E-contracts.
12. Resolving Disputes arising from E-
Contracts across State Borders (cont.)
ADR is usually preferred to litigation because it is much
faster and cheaper than Litigation, as courts are usually
congested with a backlog of cases which usually take years to
be determined.
Even though ADR may be more suitable than litigation in
dealing with disputes arising from E-Contracts across state
borders, it is still not a perfect solution to dealing with these
forms of disputes. There are still common problems that
would still arise in dealing with disputes of this nature.
A problem which has not been resolved by ADR when dealing
with Cross-Border disputes is the choice of law.
13. Resolving Disputes arising from E-
Contracts across State Borders (cont.)
The terms in a B2C E-Contract are usually non-
negotiable, and most times, not even read by the buyer,
and even where they are, the buyer is more concerned
with buying what is being offered by the seller, and
usually not concerned with the terms of the contract.
A problem which has also still not been resolved by ADR
is that of forum, the country where the dispute would
be resolved.
There is also the problem of cultural and linguistic
differences which must be taken into account.
14. What is Online Dispute Resolution(ODR)?
Julia Hornle described ODR as -the use of new tools and
techniques (information management tools and communication
tools) for dispute resolution.
Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) can be described as dispute
resolution over the internet.
ODR incorporates the use of Information Technology and
Telecommunication with the different ADR techniques.
There is sometimes a distinction made between dispute
resolution proceedings conducted exclusively online and dispute
resolution proceedings which are only supported by different
elements of ODR.
15. E-Commerce Disputes in Nigeria
Negotiation in Resolving Disputes.
The Role of the Consumer Protection Commission.
The Electronic Transaction Bill is silent on the
adjudication process of disputes.
16. Brief History of ODR
The birth of ODR dates back to 1996 with the initiation
of three pilot projects:
The Virtual Magistrate
Mediate-net (University of Maryland).
Online Ombuds Office(University of Massachusetts).
18. Essential Elements of ODR Systems
Impartial Neutrals
Transparency
Confidentiality
Privacy
Equality in the treatment of Parties.
19. Legal Requirements which must be met
by ODR.
Independence and Impartiality
Confidentiality and Transparency
Fairness
Effectiveness
20. Advantages of ODR
Faster.
Cost-Effective.
Convenience.
Issue of Jurisdiction
21. Disadvantages of ODR
Impersonal.
Confidentiality Concern.
Knowledge of ICT is critical.
Limited Range of Disputes.
Potentially Inaccessible.
22. Is ODR the Future of Dispute Resolution?
Professor Ethan Katsh- “I think the field of ADR is coming to
recognize that the future is ODR. Maybe that’s a bit of an
exaggeration, but I think it’s inevitable that ODR technology
becomes a part of all dispute resolution practice. It has to be. As
I’ve said several times, we have these machines that can do things
that skilled arbitrators or mediators have to do. That’s not likely
to put arbitrators and mediators out of business and lawyers. It is
likely to challenge them because they won’t be able to use simple
techniques that might have been useful in the past, or simply to
handle very simple disputes that lawyers might have charged for
in the past. We’re going to have more and more disputes. How
mediators come to terms with this, how the mediation/ADR field
comes to terms with this will be pretty interesting.”
