On 18th October 2017, in Hong Kong, our Mr Xie Guanbin, Senior Partner of Lifang & Partners spoke at an event organised by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center to discuss the current status of Online Dispute Resolution (“ODR”) and the potential future of ODR globally. As a legal expert on China, our Mr Xie also discussed many related issues during a panel discussion with a group of information technology and legal experts.

With regard to ODR in China, Mr Xie discussed the practices put into place by the Chinese e-commerce giants, the ADNDRC and the Hangzhou Internet Court. At present, UDRP is the most mature and established form of ODR in mainland China, whilst the Hangzhou Internet Court is a recent initiative by the Chinese Government to settle online disputes that arise online.

In respect of the future of ODR, it will lead to lower litigation costs and improved access to justice amongst other things. ODR is part of a much wider trend in human civilization, in which more and more aspects of our lives go online.

Lifang & Partners support all initiatives that improve access to justice and look forward to any future developments in the law that involve ODR.