conducted online with the help of technology at the same e-commerce platform
where the disputed transaction took place. This ensures efficient and quick
redress at a low cost. However, this option requires the combination of an
e-commerce site and a payment platform, which means that such private schemes
are feasible mostly to market leaders, such as eBay and PayPal. The mandate to
draw funds from the seller’s bank account is based on the user agreement.
However, there is no certainty or public control as to whether or not the private
provider follows the minimum criteria of due process.
F. Dispute resolution and direct enforcement of ICANN
This sixth example describes the sui generis form of non-binding arbitration and
private enforcement developed for specific dispute category, domain name disputes.
The Spanish club owner Jacqueline has recently gained some fame with her old
band Black Vixens from Outer Space. A booking agency contacted Jacqueline
and complained about not finding the band’s home page although it had
remained the same blackvixensfromouterspace.com for several years. Apparently
Jacqueline had forgotten to renew the registration of the domain name. After this
Jacqueline discovered that the domain name had already been claimed by a dealer
who then wanted to sell it back to the band for a profit. Now Jacqueline wants to
regain the ownership of the band’s domain name and contacts ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) that governs the global domain
name system. ICANN redirects Jacqueline’s claim to an approved dispute resolution service provider who applies ICANN’s specific policy for resolving domain
name disputes, UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy). As the decision is
rendered in favour of Jacqueline’s claim, ICANN executes the decision by
registering the domain name to the domain name system.
In this example, the dispute resolution of a domain name dispute is entrusted
to private providers and the decision is enforced by ICANN. No separate public
enforcement is needed. Although the UDRP rules do not prevent parties from
taking the dispute to court, it is unclear whether and how often court proceedings are initiated after the specialised process. Also, ICANN has been criticised
for the lack of due process as well as for the non-existing monitoring of the
private corporation’s functions.
26
G. Enforcement through self-executing smart contracts
This last example describes the use of blockchain-based smart contracts, where
Violetta, the Finnish artist of our first example, has composed a particularly
interesting piece of experimental drone music. Alex from the UK is a music
enthusiast and wants to buy Violetta’s new piece for her electronic music collection. They agree to conclude the transaction by using a new digital technology, a
platform for smart contracts built on the infrastructure of cryptocurrencies.
27 Alex
drafts the contract programme and transfers money to it. The smart contract will
automatically transfer the money to Violetta once the piece is downloaded to
12 Theoretical implications of dispute resolution technology
where the disputed transaction took place. This ensures efficient and quick
redress at a low cost. However, this option requires the combination of an
e-commerce site and a payment platform, which means that such private schemes
are feasible mostly to market leaders, such as eBay and PayPal. The mandate to
draw funds from the seller’s bank account is based on the user agreement.
However, there is no certainty or public control as to whether or not the private
provider follows the minimum criteria of due process.
F. Dispute resolution and direct enforcement of ICANN
This sixth example describes the sui generis form of non-binding arbitration and
private enforcement developed for specific dispute category, domain name disputes.
The Spanish club owner Jacqueline has recently gained some fame with her old
band Black Vixens from Outer Space. A booking agency contacted Jacqueline
and complained about not finding the band’s home page although it had
remained the same blackvixensfromouterspace.com for several years. Apparently
Jacqueline had forgotten to renew the registration of the domain name. After this
Jacqueline discovered that the domain name had already been claimed by a dealer
who then wanted to sell it back to the band for a profit. Now Jacqueline wants to
regain the ownership of the band’s domain name and contacts ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) that governs the global domain
name system. ICANN redirects Jacqueline’s claim to an approved dispute resolution service provider who applies ICANN’s specific policy for resolving domain
name disputes, UDRP (Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy). As the decision is
rendered in favour of Jacqueline’s claim, ICANN executes the decision by
registering the domain name to the domain name system.
In this example, the dispute resolution of a domain name dispute is entrusted
to private providers and the decision is enforced by ICANN. No separate public
enforcement is needed. Although the UDRP rules do not prevent parties from
taking the dispute to court, it is unclear whether and how often court proceedings are initiated after the specialised process. Also, ICANN has been criticised
for the lack of due process as well as for the non-existing monitoring of the
private corporation’s functions.
26
G. Enforcement through self-executing smart contracts
This last example describes the use of blockchain-based smart contracts, where
Violetta, the Finnish artist of our first example, has composed a particularly
interesting piece of experimental drone music. Alex from the UK is a music
enthusiast and wants to buy Violetta’s new piece for her electronic music collection. They agree to conclude the transaction by using a new digital technology, a
platform for smart contracts built on the infrastructure of cryptocurrencies.
27 Alex
drafts the contract programme and transfers money to it. The smart contract will
automatically transfer the money to Violetta once the piece is downloaded to
12 Theoretical implications of dispute resolution technology