The Court’s Secretary General emphasized the importance of the anticipated information technology system upgrade, which would allow the Secretariat to keep track in real time of the status of each case, this is part of an entire review of priorities and procedures internally and externally with a view to delivering a quality service.

The ICC International Court of Arbitration‘s work load continues to increase at a fast pace. The number of cases registered jumped to 663 last year from 599 in 2007. In addition 407 awards were rendered in 2008, compared with 349 in 2007, while there were 1,317 cases pending compared with 1,285 at the end of the previous year. The new Hong Kong office of the Court was up and running, with some 100 cases already registered.

The conference will also delve into dispute resolution in the industry, covering issues such as litigation B2C, secrecy obligations and dual purpose technology, and their impact on dispute resolution proceedings. The range of procedures available to resolve disputes – such as state court procedures and international commercial arbitration – will be addressed.

The conference will be held at the ICC Secretariat in Paris and will be conducted in English and French. Simultaneous translation will be available. Space is limited, and a discount will be offered to members and non-members of ICC who enroll by 12 January.

Jason Fry, Secretary General of ICC International Court of Arbitration said that the ICC Court is delighted to welcome young arbitration practitioners and corporate counsel to learn from some of the worlds most distinguished arbitrators and professionals. This is the first of what we hope will be an ongoing programme of events tailored to the new generation of arbitration professionals.

The conference is an opportunity for young lawyers and in-house counsel working in international arbitration to receive training from world-renowned arbitrators, members of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and the ICC Secretariat. The weekend course will offer six hours of academic training with the stars and rising stars of arbitration. Plenary sessions, informal debates, and workshops held in parallel have all been designed for in-house counsel and lawyers.

So what exactly is expert determination and how does it differ from other methods?

This is one of a number of private dispute resolution methods collectively referred to as alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Other ADR methods include arbitration and mediation.

In expert determination an independent expert is asked by the disputing parties to decide one or more issues between them. The experts are required to use their knowledge and experience to reach a decision based on their own investigation of the issues. The experts must act fairly and the parties must agree to be bound by the decision.

In England and Wales arbitration is supported and controlled by the Arbitration Act 1996, which supports the enforceability of arbitration awards locally and internationally. There is no similar statutory involvement in expert determination.

In arbitration, fairness is formalised by the Arbitration Act. The arbitrator can only undertake an investigation if permitted by the parties and must share the results with the parties. Unlike the arbitrator, the expert is not immune from actions for negligence. In mediation, the mediator helps the parties arrive at their own settlement.

Are there particular types of dispute that suit expert determination?

Expert determinations tend to be applied to technical disputes. The expert is usually chosen for their expertise. The types of dispute for an accountant acting as expert include: share/business valuation disputes; disputes in relation to completion accounts; deferred consideration disputes following a sale of a business; profit share disputes in partnerships and joint venture agreements; and disputes about the loss of profits from breach of contract.

There can be numerous subsidiary disputes in connection with facts and the interpretation of words, which may be outside the expertise of the expert.

Together with other procedural considerations, the expert may need to agree arrangements to enable these matters to be dealt with in a way that does not lead to the validity of his award in respect of the substantive issue(s) being undermined.

How are appointments as expert made and what happens if no agreement can be reached?

A dispute resolution clause may be included in a contract, for example in a sale and purchase agreement for a company, which requires that an expert is appointed to resolve the dispute by expert determination.

If the parties to the agreement have not named the expert, or they are unable to agree on an expert, the contract may provide that the appointment is made by the president of a particular professional body from among its members.

Alternatively, there may be no pre-existing contractual provision for the appointment of an expert to determine the dispute. The parties may decide to use expert determination to solve the dispute.

How does the whole process work and what can the parties expect in terms of fees?

The initial stage of an expert determination assignment involves completion of the engagement formalities and agreement of the expert’s powers. The expert will check whether these are sufficient and, if not, seek to agree those necessary to fulfil their mandate.

The expert will usually issue directions in relation to disclosure of documentation and exchange of submissions including content, sequence and timing.

It is not unusual for further procedural issues to emerge as the matter proceeds.

These may include: defining the issue(s) for determination; dealing with delay on the part of a party; and dealing with abuse of the established process generally.

The written decision of the expert may be by letter to the parties, or in some other form of notice. In arbitration, accompanying reasons for the decision are a requirement, subject to the parties choosing otherwise. In contrast, in expert determination, unless it is agreed that they are required, the expert need not give reasons.

In arbitration, unless the parties agree otherwise, the arbitrator is required to deal with their costs and is empowered to award interest. In contrast, in expert determination these matters may not be within the agreed brief. In any event, it may only be the allocation of the expert’s fees which are in issue as far as the expert is concerned. Alternatively, the parties may have agreed to share these costs.

How much does the whole process cost and how does it compare with other methods?

In expert determination there may be no hearing, reduced disclosure (being disclosure necessary to meet the expert’s requirements), relatively little legal representation required if any, and no reasons given with the award. As a consequence expert determination is likely to be significantly cheaper than litigation. Due to the less formal structure of expert determination, subject to the agreed arbitration process, it can similarly be cheaper than arbitration.

Source: ITweek, UK. Daniel Djanogly is a partner at Kingston Smith LLP.

¿How, exactly, PayPal resolves disputes between ecommerce merchants and their customers? Colin Rule, PayPal‘s Director of Online Dispute Resolution was intervied by Practical eCommerce magazine:

Practical eCommerce (PeC): If an ecommerce customer pays for a legitimate product using PayPal and then decides he doesn’t like it and complains to PayPal, what will PayPal do?

Colin Rule: In cases where the buyer is simply disappointed in the item, we would encourage the buyer to work directly with the seller. PayPal does offer buyer protection, but this protection covers buyers for items that they didn’t receive and for items that are significantly not as described. It does not cover cases where the buyer is merely disappointed with the item or where the item did not meet the buyer’s expectations.

Practical eCommerce (PeC): What are a merchant’s options if a customer asks PayPal to hold payment?

Colin Rule: If a merchant does get a chargeback, a couple pieces of information can be extremely helpful to dispute it. Proof of delivery, such as online tracking offered by both USPS and UPS, can be critical evidence in reversing the chargeback. A copy of the buyer’s signature confirming receipt can also be extremely effective. Finally, if a merchant did refund the buyer at any point in time, proof of the refund (and/or the shipment of a replacement item) is important.

Practical eCommerce (PeC): What other options are available to merchants to address disputes?

Colin Rule: Again, we always encourage buyers and sellers to first try to work through disputes together. To help with that, we’ve launched the dispute resolution center – a step-by-step system designed to facilitate communication between the buyer and the seller in order to get resolution of the issue. Since launching PayPal Dispute Resolution, buyer claims against sellers decreased by 50 percent, and seller losses on PayPal due to chargebacks decreased 20 percent.

If the dialogue with the seller fails to produce a satisfactory result, the buyer can then escalate the dispute into a claim, where our claims specialists gather information from both parties, examine the case and work with both parties to try to fairly and efficiently resolve the claim. In this process, PayPal will ask sellers for documentation that helps us determine that they shipped the item to the buyer and that the item was as described.

Practical eCommerce (PeC): Why should an ecommerce merchant accept payments from PayPal?

Colin Rule: It helps them increase sales and lower costs. PayPal has 141 million accounts worldwide and merchants therefore have access to a large, global base of buyers. At any given time, there is $3 billion stored in PayPal accounts, which turn over every two weeks. Many buyers view the money in their PayPal accounts as discretionary, so they are more willing to spend it, perhaps with an ecommerce merchant.

Source: Quick Query: PayPal’s Director of Online Dispute Resolution

“The International Chamber of Commerce’s decision to set up branch of the Secretariat of the Court in Hong Kong is an endorsement of our position as a premier center for international arbitration services. Its presence will enhance the provision of arbitration services in Hong Kong, ” said Wong Yan Lung, secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

The ICC International Court of Arbitration is one of the world’s top international dispute resolution institutions. It is assisted by a secretariat located at the ICC headquarters in Paris. In 2007, it handled 599 domestic and international arbitration cases. The Court oversees the ICC arbitration process and, among other things, is responsible for appointing arbitrators and scrutinizing and approving all arbitral awards.

With the enactment of Information Technology Act, 2000, e-commerce and e-governance have been given a formal and legal recognition. Even the traditional arbitration law of India has been reformulated and ‘Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996′ was enacted, he said.

In mediation, the practitioner has no advisory role, instead, a mediator renders help to parties to develop a shared understanding of the conflict and to work towards building a practical and lasting solution, he said.

He also emphasised the need for creating awareness on mediation among the general public.

“Unless the general public was aware of the goodness in the process of mediation, all our efforts would turn out to be a futile exercise”, he added. The litigant public, who look to the court for redressal of their grievance, should have an idea about this process, he said.

Negotiation: The most common form of dispute resolution is negotiation. By this means alone nearly all disputes are solved. If negotiations fail, it is necessary to seek the assistance of a neutral third party or several neutral third parties to facilitate a solution.

Mr. Christopher To, Secretary General of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC, video:

Arbitration: For an arbitration to take place, the disputing parties must agree to take their dispute to arbitration. In practice, this agreement is often made before the dispute arises and is included as a clause in their commercial contract. In signing a contract with an arbitration clause, the parties are agreeing that their dispute will not be heard by a court but by a private individual or a panel of several private individuals. If parties have agreed to arbitration, they will generally have to go to arbitration rather than court as the courts will normally refuse to hear their case by staying it to force the reluctant party to honour their agreement to arbitrate.

Arbitration is a legal process which results in an award being issued by the arbitrator or arbitrators. Arbitration awards are final and binding on the parties and can only be challenged in very exceptional circumstances. An award has a status very like a court judgment and is enforceable in a very similar manner. Arbitration awards made in Hong Kong are enforceable through the courts of most of the world’s trading nations.

Litigation: In the absence of an arbitration agreement or other consensual means of dispute resolution, the parties may commence proceedings in the courts. Litigation in Hong Kong courts is handled very competently. The decision of the Court of First Instance is not, however, final as an aggrieved party has an automatic right of appeal to the Court of Appeal and if the amount in dispute exceeds HK$1,000,000, they have an automatic right of appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.

Online Arbitration in Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC places great emphasis to providing online dispute resolution services in a wide variety of areas including the areas of intellectual property and information technology. Thus it is fitting that the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has set as one of its goals to be one of the leaders among online dispute resolution providers in regard to domain names and E-Commerce.

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC provides online dispute resolution services in the following ways:-

Dispute Resolution Service for Domain Names:

1. Dispute Resolution for gTLDs (for example: .com, .net and .org etc) – (UDRP)
As a partner in and manager of the Hong Kong Office of in the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre which is one of the four domain name dispute resolution providers approved by the Internet Corporation for the Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to provide domain name dispute resolution services in regard to generic top level domain names (gTLDs) such as .com, .net and .org. Disputes in regard to gTLDs are carried out under the Uniform Domain Name Policy (UDRP) issued by ICANN. Dispute Resolution for gTLDs

2. Dispute Resolution for ccTLDs (for example: .hk, .cn , .pw and .ph etc)
a. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC is the sole provider of dispute resolution services in regards to .hk domain names, having been appointed for such purpose by the Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited (HKDNR). Mandatory final and binding arbitration is the method chosen by HKDNR for the purpose of resolving disputes in regards to .hk domain names. Dispute Resolution for .hk
b. The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has been appointed by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) to resolve .cn domain name disputes. Dispute Resolution for .cn
c.The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC was appointed by the .pw Registry Corporation as the sole .pw Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service Provider. Dispute Resolution for .pw
d.The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC was recently appointed by the .dotPH – the Official Domain Name Registry for Philippines to resolve .ph domain name disputes. Dispute Resolution for .ph

3. DotAsia Sunrise Challenge Policy.

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) is the global official dispute resolution provider to handle disputes and challenges arising out of the launch of the .Asia domain.

Dispute Resolution for Registrar Transfer (TDRP)

The ADNDRC has started to handle Registrar Transfer Disputes under the ICANN Registrar Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy since 11 December 2004. Dispute Resolution for Registrar Transfer Disputes.

Dispute Resolution for Internet Keyword

The Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC has been appointed by the CNNIC as a provider to handle Internet Keyword Dispute under CNNIC’s Internet Keyword Dispute Resolution Policy. Dispute Resolution for Internet Keyword Dispute.

Dispute Resolution for E-Commerce – HKIAC Webtrust Programme

Webtrust Programme is a third party arbitration framework for the use and adoption by on-line merchants to handle consumer disputes on-line. It is jointly promulgated by the HKIAC and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accounts in January 2002. The HKIAC is the administrative organisation of that programme, responsible for administering the Programme and appointing of arbitrator. The HKIAC Electronic Transaction Arbitration Rules was adopted as the rules for the arbitration process of that programme.

In order to facilitate the efficient and speedy disposition of domain name disputes, the HKIAC, with technology powered and supported by the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd., has developed a proprietary on-line dispute resolution system for gTLD and hkTLD, which permits parties to conduct their domain name dispute cases by means of a sophisticated fully on-line web-based system.

More information: Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC.

The most interesting issue is that e-Justice Centre, is a mediation and arbitration centre, in the 3D virtual world of Second Life.

Picture of the virtual ODR centre e-Justice:

Housed inside the building is the mediation and arbitration centre and all of the infrastructure needed to ensure its functioning. Besides this, the building has a further 3 rooms which can be used to hold conferences and the simulation of decisions and arbitration sessions, which will be the responsibility of the Lisbon New University’s Faculty of Law.

Through this initiative, the Ministry of Justice aims to promote the use of alternative means of dispute resolution as swift, informal and easy-to-use solutions via a channel accessible on a planetary scale, as well as emphasise the importance placed by the Portuguese government and the Presidency of the European Union on these resolution processes.

The initiative will also be an experiment into the use of methods of dispute resolution in an entirely informal and virtual manner, which could have future applications in real disputes.

It should be noted that in Second Life alone the number of resident avatars already exceeds 8 million, thereby representing a sufficient community of users to justify the creation of a dispute resolution centre.

Through this initiative, Portugal has become the first country to provide a means of dispute resolution in Second Life. Any Second Life resident with a dispute with any other resident related to a contract established in Second Life can use the Arbitration Centre provided by the eJustice Centre to settle the conflict.

The process is started by submitting a request for ADR to the eJustice Centre. The other party will then be notified and asked to accept settling the dispute using the eJustice Centre.

If they agree, both parties will then pay a fee for using the eJustice Centre (1% of the value under dispute) as well as deposit an escrow with the eJustice Centre up to 5% of the value under dispute (as a guarantee that they will submit to the decision made through mediation or arbitration). [Note: currently the fee is waived]

Both parties are then notified to present themselves to a mediation session. Mediation is an informal and flexible procedure where a third party — the mediator — will help both to enter an agreement to solve the dispute.

If during mediation, an agreement is found, the process finishes; if not, the arbitration phase begins.

Arbitration is presided by a panel of one to three arbitration judges, who will make an arbitration trial on the dispute, and, at the end, will emit a final decision.

If one party does not follow the decisions of the eJustice Centre, or does not follow the agreement established through mediation, the money held in escrow is given to the other party,

The mediation and arbitration provided by the eJustice Centre are overseen by the RAL Lab of the New University of Lisbon’s Law School.

More information about e-Justice Centre:
- Second Life
- e-Justice Centre

- The American Arbitration Association – AAA – says ODR is used in only a small percentage of all cases settled, but it has seen recent growth. In 2006, 3,000 of the 160,000 cases the AAA handled were done digitally.

- ODR, Online dispute resolution is a broad category: Any mediation, ar­bitration or dispute resolution that takes place outside of court and at least partially online qualifies. It differs from alternative dispute res­olution, which refers to processes outside governmental jurisdiction. ODR can mean anything from e-mailing documents and evidence to using videoconferencing to bring the sides together. And it has been most effective in international or long-distance disputes involving technology issues.

- ODR will always be most important for online businesses since it’s clear the Internet is not always a harmonious place, giving rise to many disputes. Often those disputes involve small dollar amounts, far-flung ad­versarial parties and seemingly petty issues. In the wildly popular online game Second Life, a dispute arose because one player put a nude image where another player would be forced to look at it. It’s the kind of thing that’s too small to litigate in the real world—but using Web mediation, it got resolved.

- ODR makes most sense in cases in which attorneys’ fees would exceed what could be recouped. But many large organizations, particularly insurance companies and municipalities, are finding ODR saves them money even in big-money cases because a matter can be handled much faster.

- ODR is faster because it is not dependent on getting on a mediator’s or judge’s calendar. Using e-mail, discussion groups and Web sites, agreements can be written, posted and responded to when convenient. And when something needs to get done fast, participants can log on to a chat or a secure online session and hash out a dispute no matter where in the world participants may be.

- ODR has the added benefit of simplifying jurisdictional issues. Such matters can be resolved at the outset once all parties agree. And there is greater flexibility for the adversarial parties, with each dispute process tailored to each dispute’s needs. As long as someone can get online, he or she can participate in the process.

ODR Aplications:

Online dispute resolution may not have taken over the process of solving conflict, but it has provided new, efficient and low-cost ways to reach the goal. The following are a few examples of ODR applications:

1. FILING A CLAIM ONLINE

SquareTrade uses a tool called Direct Negotiation, which handles all the communications through e-mail, including an online form to explain the complaint and possible resolutions, and contact with the defending party to see if it will counter. If Direct Negotiation doesn’t bring a settlement, a mediator can join in.

2. TRADING SETTLEMENT OFFERS

In Cybersettle’s system, a claims professional initiates the process with confidential offers. The opposition is notified by fax, e-mail or mail, and the respondent has three tries to settle the claim. If the complainant’s offer is less than or equal to the opposition’s, the claim settles.

3. DISCUSSING THE ISSUES

The E-Arbitration-T Open Source Groupware and Customer Relationship Management Suite allows parties to create an entire ODR system, handling online case document sharing between all parties and offering full security. Off-the-shelf solutions like wikis and whiteboards also allow parties to share information, discuss and collaborate on documents, and even reach agreements online.

4. SIGNING AN AGREEMENT

The federal E-Sign Act has validated the use of electronic documents and electronic signatures since 2000. Digital signatures can now be added to many commonly used documents, including those created with Adobe Acrobat 8.

More information in: Settling It On the Web.