THREE IS NOT A CROWD: ONLINE MEDIATION-ARBITRATION IN BUSINESS TO CONSUMER INTERNET DISPUTES

Disputes on the World Wide Web are growing as rapidly as e-commerce itself. Online Dispute Resolution ("ODR") is a mechanism that is perceived as providing fair, efficient, effective, convenient and inexpensive solutions for disputes in the global e-commerce market. As part of the trend of the development and study of ODR, this article deals with a relatively innovative process: online mediation-arbitration ("online med-arb"). Online med-arb has three components: mediation, arbitration and technology. Alongside the presentation of this process, including its three components, their implementation, advantages and disadvantages, this article demonstrates how the process succeeds in overcoming the disadvantages and concerns associated with the existing ODR mechanisms (e. g., online mediation and online arbitration) when dealing with international business-to-consumer Internet disputes. In addition, this article proposes an improved model of online med-arb for dealing with disputes of this nature, with the hope that adoption of the model will advance both international trade and consumer protection in these disputes. Undoubtedly, the advent of the Internet presented a serious challenge for the Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") movement. Resolving disputes over the Internet is likely to play an important role in the future of electronic commerce. As United States Congressional proclamations make clear, the development of electronic commerce over the Internet is a broad economic and public interest for the United States. However, it is clear that this development cannot take place without a fair, efficient, and available system for resolving disputes involving the Internet, that promises accessibility to consumers to receive fair remedies with respect to their e-merchant claims. Online med-arb is likely to be one of the harbingers of this promise.