Online arbitrator

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The online arbitrator was a neutral arbitration board for legal disputes in the area of electronic business transactions (e-commerce) . It was based at the Center for European Consumer Protection eV in Kehl . This also acted as the legal carrier. Two fully qualified lawyers were employed by the online arbitrator. The online arbitrator was designed according to the arbitration rules of the European Commission . The project funding ended on December 31, 2019.

history

The online arbitrator was launched in 2009 with financial support from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Rural Areas and Consumer Protection . The background was increased legal inquiries, complaints and disputes at the Center for European Consumer Protection in the field of e-commerce. From July 2011 the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection supported the online arbitrator financially. The Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection was added in April 2012. In addition, there had been a cooperation with the online shop trustmark provider Trusted Shops since April 2012 . In November 2012, the city-state of Berlin, in January 2013 DEVK Insurance, in March 2013 the Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection of Rhineland-Palatinate and in April 2013 the Federal Association of Direct Selling Germany joined as supporters.

At a time when arbitration was still little known and widespread, the online arbitrator served as an experiment room for how arbitration might look in the future. More than 10,000 cases were arbitrated from 2009 to 2019; over 70% with an amicable settlement. In addition, this project provided impulses for the current shaping of the arbitration landscape in Germany and Europe. The experience of the online arbitrator is particularly evident in the Center for Arbitration e. V., sponsor of today's universal arbitration board of the federal government . In the meantime, there are arbitration boards in almost all consumer-relevant areas that help consumers unbureaucratically. From the point of view of the project partners, the online arbitrator has thus fulfilled its task: to promote the establishment of an effective arbitration system in Germany. The project funding therefore ended on December 31, 2019.

Tasks and structure

The aim of the online arbitrator was to bring about an out-of-court solution to legal disputes between consumers and companies . The courts should thus be relieved and the consumer should be given an opportunity to resolve legal disputes in online retail quickly, unbureaucratically and free of charge. The online arbitrator stood neutrally between the parties involved. The prerequisite for using the online arbitrator was that the dispute resulted from an online contract , such as a sales contract or a service contract. Furthermore, it had to be a dispute between a consumer and an entrepreneur. In addition, either the consumer or the entrepreneur had to have their place of residence or company headquarters in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate or in the city-state of Berlin. Nationwide, regardless of whether consumers and / or entrepreneurs were related to the aforementioned federal states, the online arbitrator was available to consumers, provided that there was a reference to one of the business partners as set out in the procedural rules. For the Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland, the online mediator also arbitrated disputes in the area of ​​direct sales, i.e. deviating from the basic rule of jurisdiction in this case also for disputes relating to contracts that were not concluded online. The online arbitrator was not responsible if it was a foreign company. The network of European Consumer Centers can help here.

The online arbitrator had its own rules of procedure. Responsibility and procedures were regulated in detail and transparently there. The arbitration procedure was initiated at the request of the consumer. The consumer entered his case via a special input mask on the now closed website www.online-schlichter.de and, if necessary, uploaded the documents relevant to the case, such as the sales contract or photos. As a rule, the responsible lawyer for the online arbitrator received a largely complete set of facts that could be checked immediately. The lawyer responsible for the online arbitrator then turned to the entrepreneur involved, described the objective legal situation and submitted an arbitration proposal. Communication during the arbitration process took place via email. The online arbitrator obtained the facts of the legal case from the information provided by the parties. The parties had the opportunity to upload important documents such as the sales contract to the process. Participation was voluntary and did not block the way to the courts. In 2019, 918 arbitration requests were processed. Of these, an amicable settlement was reached in 91 percent of the cases. Usually the cases were closed within five weeks. The average value in dispute was 576 euros.

In addition to the state-recognized and state-funded arbitration boards, there are also company or association-supported complaints boards as equivalent alternatives, such as B. the online arbitration janofair. Participation in this arbitration procedure is also free of charge for consumers, but in most cases it is cheaper for entrepreneurs, since the amounts in dispute are not billed. The Consumer Dispute Settlement Act stipulates that the universal arbitration boards of the federal states should levy fees that cover costs from the entrepreneur. For the lowest amounts in dispute up to and including 100 euros, the fee is already 190 euros.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Recommendation 98/257 / EC of April 17, 1998
  2. ↑ Stricter rules for Internet retailers protect consumers ( Memento from December 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) from July 31, 2012
  3. ↑ The arbitration board for online trading is being expanded ( memento from June 19, 2013 in the archive.today web archive ) from June 30, 2012
  4. ↑ Press release of the Bavarian State Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection from March 27, 2012
  5. ↑ Press release of the Bavarian State Ministry for Justice and Consumer Protection from July 10, 2012
  6. ↑ Online mediator Europe-wide model for out-of-court dispute resolution / EU Commissioner Dalli in Kehl ( memento from June 19, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) from February 14, 2012
  7. ↑ Press release of the Berlin Senate Department for Justice and Consumer Protection from November 26, 2012
  8. ↑ Press release of the Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection of Rhineland-Palatinate from March 1, 2013
  9. ↑ "More consumer protection on the Internet: online arbitration for Internet shopping set up for Hessen"
  10. ↑ Press release of the Center for European Consumer Protection eV ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) of October 4, 2011 (PDF; 217 kB)