Includes bibliographical references and index.

Table of contents -- PART I -- THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION TECHNOLOGY -- --Chapter 1 Introduction -- Chapter 2 Understanding Law and Technology -- Chapter 3 Emerging Crisis -- --PART II: THREE QUESTS FOR JUSTIFICATION: SOVEREIGNTY, CONTRACT AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE -- --Chapter 4 Heading towards Justification -- Chapter 5 Sovereignty and State Agenda -- --Chapter 6 Consent and Private Autonomy -- Chapter 7 Access to Justice -- --PART III: NEW WAYS FORWARD? -- Chapter 8 New Bases for Justification -- --Chapter 9 Conclusions -- --Bibliography -- --Index --.

The use of new information and communication technologies both inside the courts and in private online dispute resolution services is quickly changing everyday conflict management. However, the implications of the increasingly disruptive role of technology in dispute resolution remain largely undiscussed. In this book, assistant professor of law and digitalisation Riikka Koulu examines the multifaceted phenomenon of dispute resolution technology, focusing specifically on private enforcement, which modern technology enables on an unforeseen scale. The increase in private enforcement confounds legal structures and challenges the nation-state’s monopoly on violence. And, in this respect, the author argues that the technology-driven privatisation of enforcement – from direct enforcement of e-commerce platforms to self-executing smart contracts in the blockchain – brings the ethics of law’s coercive nature out into the open. This development constitutes a new, and dangerous, grey area of conflict management, which calls for transparency and public debate on the ethical implications of dispute resolution technology.

Also available in print format.