Limited Practical Effect of APEC ODR: A Comparative Analysis of Platform ODR and APEC ODR

Abstract: The actual demand and effect of the ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) mechanism in the field of cross-border e-commerce dispute resolution are relatively limited, and the protection of the ODR mechanism within small and medium-sized cross-border e-commerce platforms is insufficient. The reasons why the ODR mechanism cannot be fully applied to such platform disputes include the complexity of cross-border, diverse types of disputes, cost of time and money, and limited scope of application of the ODR mechanism. In addition, the lack of neutrality and standardized operating rules of the ODR mechanism within the e-commerce platform directly affects the fairness of dispute resolution. Although APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) ODR mechanism has shown significant advantages in improving efficiency and ensuring information security, it fails to effectively balance efficiency and fairness in terms of application scope and practical effect. Based on this, there are insufficient fairness problems in the automatic process mechanism, evidence collection procedure, and process deadline setting in the APEC ODR process. In the future, the APEC ODR and other international dispute resolution mechanisms will continue to be more internationalized and standardized. In addition, we have to be alert to the anti-globalization risks reflected in the APEC ODR, avoid geopolitical interferences as much as possible, and prevent the emergence of trade protectionism.