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The End and Next Generation of EU Single-Entry ODR Platform.

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This blog post has been contributed by Dr Faye Fangfei Wang, Module Convenor for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

The Rise and Limitations of the EU ODR Platform

Since 2011, public Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) services have emerged to serve specific sectors of the markets. One notable example is the EU single-entry ODR platform, launched on 15 February 2016 to facilitate cross-border consumer disputes within the EU. The platform shared some distinctive features, such as allowing consumers to use any of the 24 official languages of the EU and offering a national contact point to assist users at all stages. Although these features aim to provide much greater certainty and confidence to users in the EU, significant gaps remained in both legal and technological measures. For instance, the platform lacked integrated online hearing technologies and did not provide any decision-making services.1 Moreover, while online sellers were required to display a link to the portal on their website, they were not obliged to respond on the portal. The platform functioned only as a case filing platform, offering a list of accredited dispute resolution bodies for both sellers and consumers to agree on if they so desire.2

Regulatory Reform: Repeal and Review of the ADR Framework 

The platform’s lack of a fully integrated dispute-resolution algorithm significantly undermined its effectiveness, drawing widespread criticism and resulting in very low usage – only about 200 cases per year across the EU, representing just 2% of complaints submitted.3 On 17 October 2023, the European Commission put forward a comprehensive proposal to review the ADR framework, encompassing three key components: a legislative proposal to amend the existing ADR Directive, a legislative proposal to repeal the ODR Regulation, and a Recommendation directed at online marketplaces, EU trade associations with dispute resolution mechanisms, and Member States.4 

As a result, Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 repealed the ODR Regulation (EU No 524/2013), mandating the platform’s discontinuation: no new complaints have been accepted since 20 March 2025, and all related data will be deleted by 20 July 2025.5  This result illustrates how the success of ODR initiatives depends heavily on robust design, ease of access and user-friendly functionality. 

Looking Ahead: The Revised ADR Directive and Recommendations 

In December 2023, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) adopted Guidelines on Online Alternative Dispute Resolution, highlighting three core principles: availability, accessibility and awareness. The Guidelines note that artificial intelligence (AI) can support, but not replace, human mediators, while stressing the need to address ethical, legal, and technical concerns. They also observe progress in introducing technology into ADR across Council of Europe member States, provided such initiatives uphold key principles of consensual dispute resolution, including confidentiality, voluntariness, and provider independence.6 

Currently, a legislative proposal to amend the current ADR Directive and a Recommendation remain under consideration. The revised ADR Directive seeks to broaden the framework to cover all EU consumer law disputes, extending to pre-contractual rights and disputes with non-EU traders, while introducing a duty for traders to reply to ADR enquiries without mandating participation. It also simplifies procedures by reducing trader information obligations, enhancing cross-border assistance through European Consumer Centres, and providing digital tools to guide consumers to competent bodies.7 

The Recommendation focuses on improving the quality, fairness and effectiveness of dispute resolution procedures provided by online marketplaces and EU trade associations. It emphasises that individuals handling disputes should possess expertise, independence and impartiality, while procedures should be accessible, low-cost, timely and allow parties to express their views and seek advice. Additional guidance includes ensuring transparency in automated processes, publishing regular self-assessment reports and informing parties of key procedural rules and rights, including the option to withdraw or pursue court redres.8

Together, these reforms mark a shift from a passive, underutilised portal to an active, user-oriented guidance system – an important step forward in modernising consumer dispute resolution across the EU. The EU is developing a more user-oriented digital interactive tool to replace the ODR platform – not as a central complaint portal, but as a guidance system to help consumers navigate appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and access national ADR mechanisms more effectively.  

To ensure lasting impact, the EU’s new consumer-focused ODR guidance tool will need to align with existing approaches to digital dispute resolution. A consistent framework is essential not only for consumer–trader disputes, but also for online content–related disputes, where out-of-court solutions are increasingly relied upon to restore trust and balance between users and powerful service providers. By drawing lessons from the shortcomings of the discontinued ODR platform, the revised system has the potential to deliver a more coherent and accessible experience across different sectors, avoiding fragmentation and strengthening confidence in both commercial and digital contexts.  

This need for consistency is reflected in the Digital Services Act (DSA). Article 21 introduces out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) as a new mechanism for resolving content moderation disputes, enabling users to challenge platform decisions before independent and expert non-judicial bodies certified by national regulators. This is the first time ODS has been applied to online content, but it builds on a long track record of success in other areas such as aviation, public transport, telecommunications, energy, and domain name disputes since 2000.9 By connecting the design of consumer ODR tools with the principles underpinning ODS under the DSA, the EU can ensure a more coordinated and user-centred system of dispute resolution that fosters fairness, accessibility and public trust across the digital economy. 

  1. Wang, F. (2021), ‘Online Dispute Resolution’, in Hélène Ruiz Fabri (ed.) the Max Planck Encyclopaedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro), Oxford University Press. Available at  https://opil.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law-mpeipro/e3028.013.3028/law-mpeipro-e3028 ↩︎
  2. Ibid. ↩︎
  3. Council of the European Union (19 November 2024). Council calls for the closure of the ODR platform and its replacement with a better tool. Available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/11/19/council-calls-for-the-closure-of-the-odr-platform-and-its-replacement-with-a-better-tool/ ↩︎
  4. EU Alternative dispute resolution for consumers. Available at https://commission.europa.eu/live-work-travel-eu/consumer-rights-and-complaints/resolve-your-consumer-complaint/alternative-dispute-resolution-consumers_en ↩︎
  5. Regulation (EU) 2024/3228 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 repealing Regulation (EU) No 524/2013, and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/2394 and (EU) 2018/1724 with regard to the discontinuation of the European Online Dispute Resolution Platform. OJ L, 2024/3228, 30.12.2024. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3228/oj ↩︎
  6. The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) Guidelines on Online Alternative Dispute Resolution, CEPEJ(2023)19FINAL, Strasbourg, 4 December 2023. Available at https://rm.coe.int/cepej-2023-19final-en-guidelines-online-alternative-dispute-resolution/1680adce33 ↩︎
  7. Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, as well as Directives (EU) 2015/2302, (EU) 2019/2161 and (EU) 2020/1828, COM/2023/649 final. Available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52023PC0649 ↩︎
  8. COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION (EU) 2023/2211 of 17 October 2023 on quality requirements for dispute resolution procedures offered by online marketplaces and Union
    trade associations. Available at http://data.europa.eu/eli/reco/2023/2211/oj ↩︎
  9. Shipp, J., Harrison, R. and Curtis, A., Resolving content disputes outside the courtroom using the Digital Services Act, 7 October 2024. Available at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2024/10/07/resolving-content-disputes-outside-the-courtroom-using-the-digital-services-act/ ↩︎

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