Conflict resolution in virtual locations

Abstract

The growing use of telematic ways of communication and of the new developments of Artificial Intelligence, brought along new ways of doing business, now in an electronic format, and requiring a new legal approach. Thus, there is an obvious need for legal changes and adaptations, not only concerning a new approach of traditional legal institutes, but also concerning a need for new developments in procedural means. Transactions are now undertaken in fractions of seconds, through the telematic networks, requiring more efficient ways for solving conflicts; on the other hand, the fact that we must now consider commercial transactions totally undertaken within an electronic environment (“online transactions”) leads to an obligation of rethinking the ways of solving disputes, that will inevitably arise from electronic commerce. It is an important change already taking place, pointing out to various ways of alternative dispute resolution and, among all these ways, letting us already perceive different possibilities of using the new technologies in order to reach faster and more efficient ways (still also “fair”) of solving commercial disputes. It is a whole new evolution towards a growing use not only alternative dispute resolution, but also, towards the so-called on-line dispute resolution.The work described in this paper is included in TIARAC - Telematics and Artificial Intelligence in Alternative Conflict Resolution Project (PTDC/JUR/71354/2006), which is a research project supported by FCT (Science & Technology Foundation), Portugal