World's Leading Arbitrators Examine Challenges and Opportunities of Cyberspace
Geneva, November 6, 2000
Press Releases PR/2000/246
A gathering of leading dispute resolution service providers and arbitrators opened on Monday by acknowledging that the technological revolution has forced a change in the traditional approach to arbitration. Opening the International Conference on Dispute Resolution in Electronic Commerce on behalf of Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO Assistant Director General, said that the demand for alternative dispute resolution was increasing greatly in response to the growing volume of transactions in the digital economy. Electronic commerce presented a series of challenges and opportunities for dispute resolution.
"The digital economy is introducing profound structural change in the provision of dispute resolution services", said Mr. Gurry. He noted that traditional arbitration had a small number of providers, while today electronic commerce has spawned a significantly larger number of dispute resolution service providers, thereby giving users wider choice. "Today, users benefit from competition among the dispute resolution providers," he said. Mr. Gurry welcomed the presence at the Conference of representatives from other dispute resolution providers in the area of electronic commerce, namely: the American Arbitration Association, CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, eResolution, the International Chamber of Commerce and Square Trade.
The WIPO International Conference on Dispute Resolution in Electronic Commerce, organized by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center in cooperation with the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association (ABA), the Singapore Subordinate Courts and the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA), is examining how electronic commerce has changed the way in which business and the legal profession function and associated risks and opportunities.
Keynote speaker, Mr. Yves Fortier, President of the London Court of International Arbitration - the world's oldest arbitration institution, outlined the far-reaching consequences of the technological revolution and its implications for dispute resolution. "Whether the question is the protection of domain names, transactional security, the establishment and use of crypto-secured digital identities, or any other issue arising in the context of electronic commercial transactions, the need for efficient and effective dispute resolution cannot be overstated," Mr. Fortier said. While noting that the fundamental job of an arbitrator will not change as a result of expanding electronic commerce transactions, he urged arbitrators to stay abreast of new technologies. "Of course, the arbitrator - if he or she is to remain an expert purveyor of a justice that is uniquely attuned to the interests of parties in a particular industry - will necessarily be required to learn new tricks. He or she must understand the changing environments within which new enterprises incubate, operate and compete," he said. Mr. Fortier added "He or she will be required to adapt traditional notions regarding such concepts as "assets" or "value" to the intangible realm in which untold billions of dollars worth of business is transacted today."
The Conference will provide an opportunity for the more than 250 participants mostly from the private sector, but also representatives of governments, to look at changes in alternative dispute resolution (arbitration and mediation) brought about by the technological advances that have sparked the e-commerce revolution and which have had significant consequences for business and legal practitioners worldwide.
A series of workshops will be held in addition to the plenary sessions which will address the major challenges - legal, technical and technological - that have arisen in the field of alternative dispute resolution, and that are likely to arise in the future. The workshops will focus on specific issues, sectors of industry and supporting technologies.
For further information, see Press Release 235 or please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:
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