ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ODR) AS AN APPROPRIATE MEANS OF RESOLVING CONSUMER DISPUTES IN MERCOSUR
Name: GISELE HOLANDA PRESCHOLDT
Publication date: 02/04/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| VALESCA RAIZER BORGES MOSCHEN | Advisor |
Summary: This thesis investigates the impact of GMC Resolution nº 37/2020 on consumer protection in MERCOSUR. It highlights that inadequate protection of consumer relations is a factor that can harm consumer confidence, discouraging the circulation of goods and services, especially in electronic commerce, undermining the objectives for which MERCOSUR was created. The study explores whether Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) tools could offer satisfactory answers to the composition of consumer disputes with foreign elements, whether contracted in person or electronically. It addresses the ease of access and speed in using ODR tools in resolving these types of conflicts, eliminating the need for the consumer and supplier to be physically close to the court or administrative service in charge of handling a complaint or legal action. The first chapter provides a comprehensive overview of consumer protection in the international landscape, emphasizing the pursuit of access to justice, highlighting the current trend towards dejudicialization of conflicts. It traces the historical evolution of consumer protection and the role of International Law in developing instruments to recognize rights and enhance levels of consumer protection. It addresses the asymmetries in the consumer relationship and the importance of consumer protection for economic and social development. The second chapter provides an overview of ODR, contextualizing its origin, characteristics, and the envolving landscape of potential regulation, besides its growing coexistence with justice systems around the world. Analyzes the feasibility of its use in resolving consumer conflicts. The third chapter addresses the regulatory evolution of consumer protection within the scope of MERCOSUR. It points out the existence of distinct normative and technological stages in the treatment of consumer conflicts among the bloc members, as well as the implications of this context for the eventual adoption of a platform for resolving transnational consumer conflicts. It also deals with the overview of the use of electronic platforms for registering consumer complaints in the bloc's member states. The fourth chapter focuses on the analysis of ODR as a suitable mechanism for resolving consumer disputes within MERCOSUR. By comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the10European Platform, with findings from Consumidor.gov.br Platform, it formulates a proposition for an ODR model tailored for cross-border consumer demands, as a means of resolving disputes that is appropriate and feasible to the MERCOSUR reality.
Keywords: International Civil Procedure. Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). MERCOSUR. Consumer protection. E-commerce. Extrajudicial settlement of disputes.
