The Online Dispute Resolution Platform after One Year of Operation: A Work in Progress with Promising Potential

Abstract

The ODR platform has been fully operational since February 2016. Established by EU Regulation 524/2013 of 21 May 2013, it aims to provide consumers and traders with a simple, fast and low-cost tool for resolving out-of-court disputes arising from online purchases. On 13 December 2017, the European Commission published the first results on the functioning of this platform. The findings show that the ODR platform remains a work in progress and is still far from achieving its full potential.