ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION: ITS SCOPE AND EFFECTIVENESS IN E-COMMERCE

Abstract

In current times the majority of transactions take place in digital spaces. These days, everything can be bought online, from books to apartments. Nevertheless, there would inevitably be a rise in e-commerce conflicts as e-commerce transactions expand. However, the absence of an effective dispute resolution process in cyberspace would hinder the growth of electronic commerce. Therefore, it is important to recognize that several difficulties, including jurisdictional issues, choice of law issues, and high costs of cross-jurisdictional litigation issues, might relate to a variety of dispute types. According to the traditional definition of jurisdiction, a court must determine whether it has territorial, financial, or subject matter jurisdiction before it may hear a case. Bearing this in mind this paper argues that online activities, notably e-commerce, have given prospective disputes and dispute resolution methods a new dimension. Since the internet makes it simple to conduct modest transactions across jurisdictional boundaries, out-of-court settlements are becoming increasingly significant. This paper fervently argues that alternative dispute resolution mechanisms play a crucial role in the context of e-commerce and jurisdiction in cyberspace, primarily by enabling users to settle conflicts more effectively even when the parties are from different jurisdictions.