PARLe dans les médias britanniques | Relate puts pioneering online divorce project on hold
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Meanwhile, almost three-quarters of cases brought by consumers against retail businesses taking part in a publicly funded ODR pilot in Canada have been resolved to the satisfaction even of unsuccessful complainants.
The pilot for low-value consumer disputes was launched in October by the University of Montréal’s Cyberjustice Laboratory and funded by Quebec’s consumer protection agency.
Before PARLe launched, a number of larger Quebec businesses were persuaded to sign up, encouraged by the perceived benefits, such as better press, not having to go to court, higher consumer satisfaction and lower costs. Further, because the pilot is publicly funded, it offers the businesses a free means to settle their disputes.
The online scheme works with consumers logging on to a platform, describing their grievance, and proposing a settlement. After being contacted by email, the merchant either accepts the proposal or makes a counter proposal.
If the parties fail to reach a settlement, a mediator – funded by Quebec’s justice department – is invited to join the platform to help resolve the issue.
Writing this month in the Canadian legal magazine, Slaw, University of Montréal law professors, Karim Benyekhlef and Nicolas Vermeys, both directors of the Cyberjustice Laboratory, said: “After only a few weeks, the statistics seem quite encouraging: Of the few hundred cases filed between October 7…. and the New Year, almost 70% were resolved within the allotted time.
“Even more interestingly, many consumers that did not manage to reach a settlement still expressed their satisfaction with the platform.”
This content has been updated on 07/25/2019 at 11 h 05 min.