The role of transnational online arbitration in regulating cross-border e-business – Part I

Part I1. Introduction – 2. Since we have a hammer, the problem had better be a nail – 3. The problem is not a nail: 3.1. Unaddressed challenges, 3.1.1. Technological solutions, 3.1.2. International initiatives towards modernisation of private international law, 3.1.3. Convergence or harmonisation of national e-business laws, 3.1.4. OADR and online arbitration – 4. The hammer is not the only tool: 4.1. ADR and arbitration, 4.2. ODR, 4.3. Supportive and supervisory function of the courts.This article suggests that traditional legal solutions based on localisation and territoriality are inappropriate for cross-border e-business transactions. The instantaneous, ubiquitous and truly international internet necessitates solutions with similar qualities. The elements of a plausible solution can be found in three relatively recent developments: the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) movement; the emerging principles of internet governance; and the concept of co-regulation. The catalyst, however, is a concept rooted in the theory and practice of international commercial arbitration. This article argues that the optimum solution is a truly international, decentralised, multi-stakeholder, multi-level and multi-instrument co-regulatory system based on ODR and centred on transnational online arbitration with the role of the courts limited to the guardianship of public policy.