1. Professor Sue Prince s.j.prince@exeter.ac.uk
Move away from the building: will ADR be an essential element of an online small claims process?
Professor Sue Prince

2. Moving away from the courtroom
“Mediation can bring about earlier resolution in cases which are destined to settle and can, on occasions, identify common ground which conventional negotiation does not reach.”
LJ Jackson ‘Costs Review’ (2009)
“Litigation will be avoided wherever possible.
People will be encouraged to start court proceedings to resolve disputes only as a last resort, and after using other more appropriate means when these are available.
Information on sources of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) will be provided at all civil courts.”
Lord Woolf ‘Access to Justice’ (1996)
”…There are a number of reasons which …lead me to adhere to the view that a departure from a default assumption that there must always be a traditional face-to-face trial is justified.”
Lord Briggs, ‘Civil Court Structure Review: Final Report’ (2016)

3. ADR and Dispute Resolution
Self-help / empowerment
Negotiation/ co-operation
Problem-solving
Dialogue

4. Dispute avoidance
Dispute avoidance
Dispute containment
Dispute containment
Dispute resolution
Dispute resolution

5. Online Courts: ODR for Low Value Civil Claims (Civil Justice Council, 2015)
Tier One
Tier Two
Tier Three
Online Evaluation
Online Facilitation
Online Judges
Classify and categorise problem
Review papers and guide parties through mediation and negotiation
Decide cases online – structured online process
Proportionate justice

6. British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal: example of pathway

8. Information and Advice
Culture of Public Legal Education (PLE)
Digital Exclusion
Adversarial nature of process
Crystalise the difference between information and advice
Role of facilitation

9. Small Claims Mediation

10. Conclusions Most cases resolved online ADR processes become mandatory
Growth in public legal education