The Research On Place Of Online Arbitration

The paper is mainly divided into three chapters. The first chapter is the overview of Online Arbitration (OA), including three sections. The first section has a review and contrastive analysis concerning the definition of OA, differences from the traditional arbitration and advantages of OA respectively, demonstrating that the essential difference between the traditional arbitration and OA rests with the carriers and ways of the information transmission, rather than mechanism and principle for settling disputes. Therefore, this determines another difference that the difference between OA procedure and traditional arbitration procedure. In order to have a better understanding of OA procedure, it is necessary to know the flow of OA and basic theories of information security technique for ensuring the smooth progress of OA. Therefore, the second section has a review on the principle of information security technique where the advantages of OA lies, such as meanings and functions of Public Key and Private Key, digital signature and digital certification. In the third section of this chapter, the paper, on the basis of integrating theory and practice, analyzes representative OA practices in China, US, and Canada, etc. from an empirical perspective, aiming at increasing the perceptual knowledge and understanding of potential users to OA. In the second chapter and the third chapter of the paper, a further exploration is conducted on the basis of reviewing previous research achievements.Of the four sections in the second chapter, the first one provides descriptions and comparisons about the place of arbitration from geographical and legal perspectives; the second one has a detailed discussion on the positions and functions of the place of arbitration from four aspects; the third section, going deep into existing problems and countermeasures for ascertaining the place of OA, introduces two approaches: to determine the place of OA according to the physical place of the most significant relationship or the seat theory; and in the fourth section, the paper is of the opinion that"the seat theory"demonstrates conceptualizing development trend of the traditional arbitration place and the essence of virtualization in OA place and it can effectively solve the legal problems regarding the"vacancy"of the place of OA.Based on the above discussions on the existing problems concerning the place of OA and the measures to tackle such problems theoretically, the paper proposes some tentative legislation suggestions in the last chapter. For instance, in reference to the provisions on the place of arbitration in Article 16 of Arbitration Rules of London Court of International Arbitration (1988), specific and feasible suggestions are put forward in the paper concerning how to stipulate clearly and definitely the place of OA in international arbitration rules and the arbitration law of China.