EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF ODR FOR FAMILY DISPUTES IN INDIA
Author – Anoosha S.Panwar, Ph.D.Research Scholar, National Law University, Delhi
Best Citation – Anoosha S.Panwar, EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY OF ODR FOR FAMILY DISPUTES IN INDIA, Indian Journal of Legal Review (IJLR), 3 (1) of 2023, Pg. 614-627, ISSN – 2583-2344.
ABSTRACT
Technology has expanded its scope and reach to meet emerging societal needs. It is remolding several aspects of business, government, and social interaction from education to health care to commerce. The overall user dependency has also risen with the growth of the IT field in various avenues. The legal field is no exception in terms of adapting to the use of technology, especially during the exceptional times of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Globally, there has been a significant rise in marital conflicts since the onset of the pandemic which could be attributed to a variety of reasons as has been pointed out by family law experts and psychologists. The dispute resolution mechanism for family disputes has also portrayed an exponential level of pendency in matters before the family courts in India in the year 2021. This necessitated the use of technology to resolve family disputes, especially during the pandemic. The integration of technology while using ADR methods for settling such disputes seemed to be a more viable option.
Against this background, this paper sets to explore the use of ADR methods while resolving family disputes. The paper begins with an understanding of the use of ADR in family disputes and the ongoing problems in the same. Thereafter, the paper examines the emerging concept of the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) method and its relevance in resolving family disputes. It also throws light on steps taken by India so far to adopt ODR in resolving various types of disputes at governmental and private levels. A part of the paper studies the developments taken in various foreign countries in adopting ODR to settle family disputes. Lastly, the paper has looked at the measures taken by India with regard to the use of ODR in settling family disputes. The paper concludes with steps to be taken by India to accelerate ODR in the field of family disputes.
Keywords: Alternative dispute resolution, Online dispute resolution