Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) in Contractual Disputes: Revolutionizing India's Justice Delivery
Abstract
Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) proves to be a revolutionary system of contractual dispute settlement in India, as it integrates technology with the old-fashioned arbitration concepts to resolve the court loads of over 4 crores of cases. This Article will examine the procedural structure of ODR, its use in practice in the e-commerce and gig economy, such issues as AI bias and enforcement loopholes, and build a roadmap to integrate ODR on a massive scale by 2030. It presents its arguments based on the policy plans and landmark implementations of NITI Aayog that ODR can resolve 50 crore low-value disputes per year and maintain the evidentiary standards. The contractual environment in India, which is driven by digital trading worth 200 billion dollars in 2025, requires speedy solutions not overworked in courts. ODR sites allow automated discussions, online mediation, and binding awards through e-signatures and shorten years to hours. However, procedural innovations cannot be one-sided, as the efficiency and fairness in such innovations, as platforms such as SAMA and Udaan show, need to be balanced.
