Events and Courses on ADR/ODR ODR_Moderator writes “Ministry of Economics of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is organising from 17 to 19 September 2003 an international congress on the trustmarks in electronic commerce.

A non exhaustive list of the themes which will be tackled during this congress is given below:
:: Electronic commerce and its development perspectives
- Current characteristics of the sector
- Offers available to consumers: product, services, on-line transactions, etc.
- Trends
:: Expectations of the cyber consumer
- Legibility of the offer
- Reality of the enterprise
- Delivery conformity
- Payment security
- Data protection
- Complaint processing
:: Signs and marks on the internet
- The problem of the sign in the virtual world
- Typology and impact of signs and marks on the internet
- How to guarantee the reputation of a sign or a mark?

:: How to guarantee the quality of an on-line sale?
- Self-inspection by the e-merchant
- Labels
- Certificates
:: The role of the national or international public authorities
Regulation or incentive?
- Consumer protection
- Promotion of commercial exchanges
:: The role of the non-governmental organisations
- Professional organisations
- Consumer organisations

More information, contacts and registration in the Congress Website

Year 2003

Despite the dot.com bust, the future of Internet commerce (e-commerce) still looks rosy. According to recent studies, it is now projected that by 2005 one billion people will be on the Internet and at least one third will make online purchases. What is even more remarkable is that this huge, $1.6 trillion business will be based essentially on trust, among sellers and buyers who are unlikely to ever see or speak to each other.

Inevitably, some of those e-commerce transactions are bound to turn into disputes. So what happens when a seller in the USA and a buyer in Russia disagree over a sale transaction worth only a few hundred dollars? What recourse do they have, when litigation, Small Claims court and arbitration are obviously not feasible options?

More and more online merchants are realizing that, if trust is indeed such a critical factor in e-commerce, having reliable products, clear return/refund policies and a multi-language web site may not be enough. It is far more effective if worldwide customers are reassured that, if they have a disagreement with the seller, they can get it resolved through an independent, neutral and inexpensive dispute resolution process.

Ebay has already proven how this can be done. With more than four million auctions daily, eBay is the world’s largest online auction. When sellers and buyers throughout the world have a dispute, they are referred to Square Trade, an independent ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) company based in San Francisco. A Square Trade trained mediator assigned to the case then gets in touch with both parties and helps them negotiate a mutually acceptable settlement. The purpose of mediation is not to determine which party is right or wrong, but to help seller and buyer answer one simple question: How can your case be resolved in a way you can both live with?

The entire mediation process takes place by email, and neither the mediator nor the parties need to be online at the same time. Therefore, parties can read and respond to the mediator’s messages whenever they want: after a few minutes, hours or even days.

As a Square Trade mediator, I have mediated over 900 eBay cases, with parties across the USA, Europe, Asia, and transactions worth anywhere between one penny and $35,000. All cases have fundamentally the same features. There are some substantive, tangible issues (like money, products, refunds, etc.); and there are also intangible issues (like the buyer’s need to feel heard and respected), which can often be resolved just with an apology.

Interestingly enough, the settlement rate achieved through online mediation is similar to the settlement rate achieved in face-to-face mediation in Small Claims courts. In other words, it does not really matter whether seller and buyer know each other since they live in the same city, or are total strangers because they live in different countries. What matters most is that both parties feel equally empowered by a neutral process that does not favor one party over the other, and gives them total control on its outcome.

Giuseppe Leone is a Square Trade online mediator and MCP mediator for Hawaii Small Claims courts. mediationplus@yahoo.com

Year 2003

Mr Robert Verrue, Director-General of the ECs DG INFSO, referred to eLexPortal during the SME Union Workshop held in the European Parliament on 18th February, as a European Commission action to enhance trust and confidence of EU entrepreneurs and citizen about e-Commerce.

eLexPortal.com offers a single entry point for visitors giving data on policy and regulation in all the EU member states, a Directory service, sources of information and links to relevant WebSites. National legislation and regulations are collected by experts in each EU Member State. The result is legal information available and tailored by means of a Regulatory Engine which gives clear explanations on e-Commerce regulatory issues for the business entrepreneur, with specific relevance to particular business activities and processes.

With the implementation of national legislation on e-Commerce we are now able to offer free of charge complete information covering the 15 EU member countries says Geoffrey Thompson, Managing Director of ERIN and Project Director of eLexPortal. Besides the cross-border aspects of e-Commerce, which are often pre-eminent due to its transnational nature, eLexPortal can be an effective support tool for e-entrepreneurs in their home market. Jan H. Guettler, a Director of Cullen International, stated that: Identifying and selecting the relevant legislation for each European regulatory context entailed a grate deal of effort by our EU-wide network of national experts, but we are now there. According to Mike Dickinson, the eLexPortal Project Manager: we are carrying out awareness-raising actions to enhance the prominence of this effective tool. As far as we know in Europe there is no analogous service for small and medium enterprises, for free.

Project summary

The project supporting eLexPortal.com is funded as an Accompanying Measure of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme which is a single, integrated research programme managed by the Information Society Directorate General of the European Commission, building on the convergence of information processing, communications and media technologies. The European Commission has committed ERIN S.A. to manage the initiative. ERIN S.A. is an Internet technology company specialising in complex information management and dissemination projects in multicultural environments and in producing multi-lingual publishing solutions based on Internet technologies, interactive on-line communities, and traditional publishing techniques.

On the contents side, the eLexPortal.com is powered by Cullen International S.A., a specialist in regulations and regulatory information systems covering electronic commerce and multimedia as well as telecommunications regulations within the Europe and the United States.

Additional support activities will soon be implemented including a HelpDesk, the collection and publication of best practice by way of case studies, providing links and interfaces to existing on-line sources of information, as well as generating on-line tutorials for users of the eLexPortal.com regulatory engine.

URL: www. eLexPortal.com

For further information, please contact:
Carlo Ennio Stasi
eLexPortal PR/Communication
ERIN S.A.
2 Place Virchow
L-2671 Luxembourg
e-mail: carlo@erin.lu
Tel. +352-26 48 50-25
Fax +352-26 48 50-26