Editor’s Introduction

In addition to Aristotelis Stamoulas’ article on consumer ADR schemes and the Greek Consumer Ombudsman, and Michael Fang’s review of AI in China, this edition of the IJODR contains two special sections.
The first special section contains material from the most recent ODR Forum. From 3 May 2022 to 5 May 2022, the UCD Southerland School of Law at University College Dublin hosted the 21st Online Dispute Resolution Forum. The material in this section is drawn from some of the presentations and conversations at that conference, addressing some of the pressing issues in ODR as seen by leading researchers and practitioners in the field, including a discussion of what should be seen as the parameters or boundaries of ODR, the ethics of ODR and the place of a Universal Disclosure Protocol for Mediation in ODR.
The second special section contains comments from thought leaders in the field of ODR. In the light of the current robust discussions surrounding AI, and ChatGPT in particular, the editors asked the Fellows of the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) to put forward some reflections on the state of AI and its relationship to online dispute resolution. The comments from the Fellows are the result of that request. The comments begin with an observation by the Center’s founder, Ethan Katsh, and end with comments from the current Center Director, Leah Wing. Between these bookends, the Fellows’ comments are presented in alphabetical order. Some responses are brief and focused on one or two issues, and some responses offer more lengthy observations. Biographies of each Fellow can be found on the website of the NCTDR – https://odr.info/fellows/.