NEW DELHI, OCT 28
Disputes related to family, consumers and labour can be adequately addressed through the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) mechanism amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a draft report released on Wednesday.
The draft report, titled ”Designing the Future of Dispute Resolution: The ODR Policy Plan for India”, said the government and judiciary can use ODR to address the long-standing problems of delay that currently impair the judicial system.
“Due to the COVID-19-induced pandemic, there will be a likely upsurge of cases that shall present themselves to the Judiciary. These disputes range from family disputes to labour disputes and consumer disputes,” it said.
The draft report, prepared by government think-tank Niti Aayog, said ODR has immense potential to provide a new dimension to the dispute resolution ecosystem in India.
“Fortunately, all of these classes of disputes can be adequately addressed through ODR without requiring the physical presence of parties,” it said.
The government should aim to position ODR as a legitimate dispute resolution process and encourage private entities to adopt this route. it said.
“The government should also adopt ODR for resolution of government disputes,” the report noted.
To extract all the benefits that ODR has to offer, there is a need for deep percolation of technology in the society and expanding the use of the internet and digital tools, it added.
The report further said India can be at the forefront of the global ODR movement.
ODR refers to the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) tools to enable parties to resolve their disputes.
This includes using simple to complicated communication technologies ranging from telephones and smartphones to LED screens, spreadsheets, e-mails, and messaging applications.
