The technology developed by Seraphin.legal for FastArbitre is, as of 4th April, 2019, released under MIT license. The source code is now freely accessible online and reusable on the git directory Open Justice of the Consortium eJustice.
The ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) technology used by FastArbitre, service in litigation management and dispute resolution through online mediation and arbitration, is now part of the Digital Commons of Justice. This open source release is an essential contribution by the actors of the Consortium eJustice to the development of the digital public service of justice. It is also a major participation of the French community to the ODR bricks already opened by the Cyberjustice Laboratory of the University of Montreal; it’s the prefiguration of an international community of OPEN JUSTICE.
Technology – The Open Justice technology makes it possible to conduct amicable and litigation proceedings in a completely dematerialized, confidential and secure way. It simplifies the procedures – filing of documents, exchange of arguments – and assists the parties at each stage of their dispute resolution.
Legal Tech and open source: a need for algorithmic transparency – The increasing use of extra-judicial procedures to settle disputes, particularly demonstrated by the development of ODR technologies, responds to the need to relieve court congestion and increase the efficiency of justice. However, this effectiveness cannot be achieved at the expense of the quality of the rendered decisions, directly linked to the confidence of litigants in alternative dispute resolution methods.
Releasing the source code of their ODR technology and making it accessible and auditable by all, FastArbitre and Seraphin.legal intend to ensure a total algorithmic transparency; the repartition of roles between robot work and human intervention is clearly stated. This transparency is a fundamental element of the Consortium’s project to rethink justice as a public service organized in the interest of citizens, making it closer, more accessible and more efficient.
Further developments – The release of ODR Open Justice technology in open source is part of the work carried out by the Legal Tech Lawyer network since 2016, aimed at gathering Legal Tech actors in collaborative projects.
By making its code available to everyone, Seraphin.legal is thus positioning itself as the main contact for all users and suppliers of online dispute resolution tools.
Providers of online dispute resolution services will be able, as set by the recent French Justice Act, to apply for certification.
Access the source code: https://github.com/Open-Justice/ODR
