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Resolution 2081 (2015)
Access to justice and the Internet: potential and challenges
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reiterates
that access to justice is a cornerstone of any democratic State based
on the rule of law, and a prerequisite for citizens’ effective enjoyment
of their human rights. It notes, however, that access to the justice
system often entails high costs in terms of time and money and may
be impeded by courts’ limited resources.
2. Efforts are being made in a number of States to reform court
processes in order to accelerate procedures and make them more affordable,
in particular through the use of modern forms of information and communications
technology (ICT).
3. The Assembly welcomes the increased use of ICT tools, such
as electronic case files, Intranet portals, videoconferencing, case-management
systems and databases facilitating information sharing, which not
only have the potential to simplify and expedite procedures, but
also to enhance the consistency and predictability of outcomes.
4. The Assembly further observes that ICTs have paved the way
for pursuing alternative dispute resolution (ADR) via the Internet,
by means of so-called online dispute resolution (ODR) procedures.
The use of the Internet to resolve disputes appears likely to grow,
given the notable rise of e-commerce and e-governance, which are
simplifying interaction between individuals, businesses and governments.
5. The Assembly encourages member States to promote and further
develop ODR mechanisms, acknowledging the potential of ODR procedures
for settling disputes more speedily, cheaply and in a less conflictual
manner than through litigation. ODR mechanisms can provide more
flexibility in terms of procedures employed and remedies prescribed.
6. While considering that ODR procedures and ICTs can contribute
to facilitating access to the justice system, the Assembly recognises
the various challenges involved in ODR procedures and the use of
ICT in dispute settlement, including technical issues, inequalities
in individuals’ access to online resources, privacy issues and problems
regarding the enforcement of decisions. It therefore stresses the
need to safeguard the rights enshrined in the European Convention
on Human Rights (ETS No. 5, “the Convention”), and in particular the
right to a fair trial (Article 6) and the right to an effective
remedy (Article 13).
7. In light of the above, the Assembly calls on the Council of
Europe member States to:
7.1. make
voluntary ODR procedures available to citizens in appropriate cases;
raise public awareness of the availability of such procedures and
create incentives for choosing them, including by promoting the
extrajudicial enforcement of ODR decisions and by enhancing the
knowledge of legal professionals about ODR;
7.2. ensure that existing and future ODR procedures contain
safeguards compliant with Articles 6 and 13 of the Convention, which
may include access to legal advice;
7.3. ensure that parties engaging in ODR procedures retain
the right to access a judicial appeal procedure satisfying the requirements
of a fair trial pursuant to Article 6 of the Convention;
7.4. undertake to develop common minimum standards that ODR
providers will have to comply with, in order to ensure, inter alia, that their procedures
do not unfairly favour regular users over one-time users; and to
strive to establish a common system of accrediting ODR providers
satisfying these standards;
7.5. continue to monitor technological developments in order
to promote the use of ICTs within courts to improve judicial efficiency,
while guaranteeing fair and transparent proceedings, data security,
privacy and the adequate and continuous training of court staff
and lawyers on the lawful and effective use of ICT in judicial proceedings.