Memo: A step forward for EU consumers: Commissioner Tonio Borg welcomes adoption of Out-of-court Dispute Resolution

Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, Tonio Borg, welcomed the vote of the European Parliament on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Dispute Resolution (ADR-ODR) on 12 March 2013. This vote confirms the agreement on the two proposals put forward by the European Commission in 2011.

he rules on ADR will ensure that consumers can turn to quality alternative dispute resolution entities for all kinds of contractual disputes that they have with traders; no matter what they purchased1 and whether they purchased it online or offline, domestically or across borders.

According to the ODR Regulation, an EU-wide online platform will be set up for handling consumer disputes that arise from online transactions. The platform will link all the national alternative dispute resolution entities and operate in all official EU languages.

Raising consumers' awareness is another pillar of this legislation, as traders will need to provide consumers with adequate information on ADR and ODR.

Member States will have two years to implement the ADR/ODR rules. The ODR platform will be operational at the end of 2015.

European Commission: Rapid: MEMO/13/193: A step forward for EU consumers: Questions & answers on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Dispute Resolution http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-193_en.htm

---