E-Consumer Protection : Online Dispute Resolution Based on Restorative Justice

Abstract

Purpose: The shift of consumer transactions to digital platforms is not only changing the form of commerce but also the structure of consumer disputes. Online Dispute Resolution is often seen as an appropriate mechanism for responding to these changes because it can reduce geographical barriers, procedural costs, and dependence on physical meetings. However, these advantages do not by themselves ensure a fair dispute resolution process. This article examines the conditions that must be met so that Online Dispute Resolution based on restorative justice at the Consumer Dispute Resolution Agency can provide substantive consumer protection and not simply move conventional mediation to the digital space.

Research Design and Methodology: This research uses normative legal research methods with a statutory and conceptual approach, supported by a review of the literature on consumer protection, online dispute resolution, procedural justice, restorative justice, and digital accessibility.

Findings and Discussion: The analysis shows a fundamental problem: consumers and business actors do not enter the digital dispute resolution process with equal economic resources, information, technological capabilities, or bargaining power. Control of transaction data and digital architecture by marketplaces can add another layer of inequality to the process. On that basis, this article offers a Restorative-Corrective Online Dispute Resolution Model, namely a digital mediation design that is directed at correcting, not reproducing, inequality between the parties. The model relies on institutional independence, balanced stakeholder representation, meaningful consent, consumer assistance, procedural transparency, mediator accountability, data protection, digital accessibility, and effective review mechanisms.

Implications: Online Dispute Resolution based on restorative justice can only strengthen consumer protection if the institutional design is able to reconcile technological efficiency with procedural justice and substantive justice. The original abstract specifically emphasizes resource inequality, bargaining power, data control, and the Corrective Restorative Online Dispute Resolution Model offer.