Third International Workshop on Online Dispute Resolution
(ODRworkshop.info)

In conjunction with the 18^th Annual Conference on Legal Knowledge and Information System (Jurix)

Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Belgium), December 10, 2005

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

NEW: 8 papers and 3 position papers have been accepted, for an overview click here.
The program includes a key note by Ethan Katsh is made available shortly.

Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is promised to become an important method to settle (online) disputes. At present, there is a fairly limited set of successful providers for online dispute settlement. Well-known examples are Cybersettle and SquareTrade. The services offered by these providers are relatively simple compared to what human mediators and arbitrators offer.

There seems to be room for much more advanced techniques that offer user's both (self) diagnosis tools, as well as more advanced dispute resolution techniques. Artificial Intelligence techniques, but also insights from fields, such as, negotiation theory, and cognitive psychology, are relevant for these advanced solutions.

The current workshop intends to be a forum for researchers working in fields, such as, ADR/ODR, argumentation, negotiation, and AI & Law in general, as well as providers of ODR-services, to discuss current research and set future research agendas. It's main aim is to deepen our understanding of what is required to develop more advanced ODR tools.

Call for papers

Authors are invited to submit both papers up to a max. of 5000 words, and position papers of app. 500 words.

Relevant paper topics include, but are not restricted to, the following:
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->

• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Argumentation and ODR;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Theories of dispute resolution and ODR;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Discourse/dispute analysis and modeling;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Tools and techniques for assisted negotiation, automated negotiation, online mediation and online arbitration;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Psychological and cognitive factors in dispute resolution, and in ODR in particular;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Understanding the role and content of BATNAs (the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) in dispute resolution;
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Empirical research on ODR use
• <!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Legal issues in ODR;

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

Deadline for submission: November 9, 2005

Notification of acceptance: November 15, 2005

Final papers due: December 4, 2005 

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

Submissions should be sent to the program co-chairs Ronald Leenes (r.e.leenes@uvt.nl) and John Zeleznikow (john.zeleznikow@vu.edu.au). Papers will be refereed and a number of the selected papers will be entered in a post-workshop review process, leading to a journal special issue on current ODR research.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

Program co-chairs

Ronald Leenes and John Zeleznikow

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

Program Committee

Jeremy Barnett - Court 21, Computing and Informatics, Leeds University, UK

Maurits Barendrecht - Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Tilburg University, The Netherlands

Emilia Bellucci - School of Information Systems, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Benjamin Davis - University of Toledo College of Law, USA

Thomas F. Gordon - Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems, Berlin, Germany

Ethan Katsh - Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA

Ronald E. Leenes - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society, Tilburg University, the Netherlands

Arno R. Lodder - Centre for Electronic Dispute Resolution, Vrije Universiteit, the Netherlands

Melissa Manwaring - Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, USA

Robert H. Mnookin - Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, the Chair of the Program on Negotiation, and the 2006 Francke International Chair at Leuven University, Belgium

Colin Rule - Director of Online Dispute Resolution for eBay & PayPal, USA

Thomas Schultz - Research team on ODR, Arbitration and Technology, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Ernest M. Thiessen - Smartsettle, ICAN Systems, Canada

Bart Verheij - Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Groningen, the Netherlands

Gerard A.W. Vreeswijk - Institute of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

Berend R. de Vries - Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society, Tilburg University, the Netherlands

Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab - Faculty of Law, Cairo University, Egypt

Douglas N. Walton - Professor of Philosophy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Winnipeg, Canada

Michael A. Wheeler - the MBA Class of 1952 Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, Co-director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, USA