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New Delhi : Exploring the massive potential of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) to enhance the Ease of Doing Business in India, NITI Aayog in association with Agami and Omidyar Network India, held a conversation—co-hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)—with heads of legal firms and industry representatives on August 8, 2020.
‘In today’s age of data-driven solutions and machine learning, ODR provides the potential to resolve a substantial percentage of disputes at the site of their occurrence without burdening the courts. Progressive and disruptive changes in justice delivery are critical components that can alter the course of access to justice in an unprecedented way,’ said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.
Emphasising that ODR can act as a complement to the court system, former Supreme Court Justice B N Srikrishna said, ‘It will be an auxiliary of the court system, in the sense that it will prevent a large number of litigations that clutter the courts. A litigant does not need to travel from Kerala to Delhi to solve his dispute, he/she can resolve it through the electronic platform.’
ODR is the resolution of disputes, particularly small- and medium-value cases, using digital technology and techniques of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
‘We must use this opportunity to actually reimagine dispute resolution and conflict resolution for the future, for the 21st century, and post the Covid-19 pandemic,’ stressed Cyril Shroff, Managing Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. He went on to say that the opportunity here was not just to use technology to optimise the old way of doing things, but also to use our imagination and create the right alliances, to bring in transformation.
Ease of Doing business has been a priority area of the government for combating deceleration in the growth of GDP and investment. ‘As a part of this, we need to focus on improving the enforcing contracts mechanism in India through innovative methods like Online Dispute Resolution,’ said Sanjiv Bajaj, Vice President, CII, and Chairman and Managing Director, Bajaj Finance.
The esteemed panellists agreed to adopt and institutionalise ODR and to ensure efforts are taken to scale online dispute resolution in India. To this end, Ajay Bahl, Chairman Judicial Reforms Committee CII and Founding Partner of AZB & Partners, said, ‘We must promote ODR.’
Speaking on the impact of ODR on business, Shilpa Kumar, Partner, Investments, Omidyar Network India, said: ‘LegalTech in general and ODR, in particular, can be a game-changer for citizens as well as Indian businesses, particularly MSMEs. One, it can help reduce the cost of dispute resolution in the face of rising cases and disputes. Two, it will allow citizens and consumers to raise any grievances they may have at the click of a button and have an independent third-party firm review and address their grievance. This can truly help businesses enhance consumer trust and improve customer retention. Three, in the medium-term, once ODR firms have collected enough data around disputes, it can start feeding back into business decisions regarding the product and service being offered.’
However, to enable ODR reach its full potential will require an incredible public-private collaboration, said Sachin Malhan, co-founder, Agami, according to a PIB release.
In the coming months, ODR could be the mechanism that helps businesses with achieving expedient resolution. ‘If there was ever a solution that was arranged for India, or a technology problem that was ever made for India, then it is ODR. We have the minds, the know-how and the volume of data to make it successful,’ said Deep Kalra, CEO, Make My Trip.