Not all online dispute resolution initiatives are successful initially, but that does not mean they are not helpful for developing policy and pushing change.
Dr Jin Ho Verdonschot, formerly Head of Justice Technology and Justice Technology Architect at HiiL Innovating Justice. He was also instrumental in the design and creation of the Dutch Rechtwijzer Platform – a platform for resolving interpersonal disputes such as divorce and separation. In this interview (recorded back in 2015) Jin Ho talks about the platform and how it works. Things did not turn out quite as he planned. Watch the interview and then read on below.
Reflective Questions:
1. Jin-Ho sets out what he feels is a typical process for people finding themselves in a dispute – gathering information – engaging with the other party – escalating to involve a third party. Is this your experience too or do you think many people skip the second stage and go straight to engaging a third party be it a lawyer or the courts? How do you think a platform like Rechtwijzer help ensure people take the second stage and engage in dialogue?
2. Jin-Ho sees many opportunities for lawyers and mediators coming out of platforms like Rechtwijzer, rather than them taking working away from dispute resolution professionals as many people fear. What is your view on this? Discuss with your peers what opportunities might arise for professionals like you with the increased availability of online platforms to resolve even the most interpersonal of disputes.
Activities
In 2017, Rechtwijzer announced the cessation of its project with the Dutch Aid Board and Modria and the project did not have the success that had been anticipated.
Read the following two articles which discuss why this happened and what lessons were learned.
Rechtwijzer: Why Online Supported Dispute Resolution Is Hard to Implement
The decline and fall (and potential resurgence) of the Rechtwijzer
Based on this, make suggestions as to what, three years and numerous changes, not least the current rush to move services online, the potential for a platform light this may be now and what you think would have to be changed in order for it to be more widely used.
Resources for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Law Students
Mediator Academy’s mission is to provide access to the very best educational resources and thought leaders in dispute resolution to everyone on the planet. We’ve come a long way since our original long-form video interviews (over 1000 were produced) to where we are today with adaptive online lessons and modules. In light of the current challenges that law students and faculty face we are re-engineering some of the richest video interviews from our archives and sharing these resources with you to be used as teaching aids until normal service is resumed. We hope you find them useful.
Leave a Reply