Applying the right to a fair trial to alternative consumer dispute resolution

Abstract

26 See also the discussion in Chapter III on the applicability of the right to a fair trial to the CCB proceedings. 27 Eddy Bauw and others, Rechtsstatelijke waarborging van buitengerechtelijke geschiloplossing (WODC report 2727) (Universiteit Utrecht/ Montaigne Centrum voor Rechtspleging en Conflictoplossing/ WODC 2017) 41. 29 Case studies may involve individuals or organisations, but also processes, such as the CCB proceedings. See also David E McNabb, Research Methods for Political Science: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (3 rd edn, Routledge 2020) 275-276 with further references. 30 See also section 5.3 on the cross-border perspective in Chapter II. 31 Commissie Webwinkels Beslist.nl. 32 3 complaints were filed in 2019, 4 in 2020. This committee ceased to exist as of 1 January 2021, De Geschillencommissie, 'Commissie Webwinkels Beslist.nl' (samenwerkenaankwaliteit.nl) <www.samenwerkenaankwaliteit.nl/jaarverslag-2020/inhoud/jaarverslag-consumenten/webwinkels-beslist-nl> accessed 30 November 2022. 33 The case file analysis is described in further detail in Appendix B. The statistical analysis is described in section 2 of Chapter V. 34 Two cases were included because the decision was already finished at the beginning of the case study, though the official date of the decision was later.(ii) the committee was not competent to decide the dispute, (iii) the case ended with an amicable settlement, or (iv) it was unclear who had won. 35 The qualitative part of the study included desk research, interviews, and observations. 36 The desk research regarded doctrinal legal research into the right to a fair trial and the horizontal effect of fundamental rights. 37 Furthermore, a literature study of the CCB was conducted, which included the WODC evaluations of the CCB. 38 Moreover, the CCB's websites, a variety of internal documents, the case management systems, and the case files were analysed. This case file analysis was mostly part of the quantitative research. However, several findings that stood out but were not part of the database were noted for the qualitative analysis of the CCB proceedings.The interviews with CCB employees mostly took place in September and October 2019, while the case file analysis was carried out. Some interviews were conducted later. Many interviews with chairpersons and committee members took place prior to, or after the hearing observations. Interviews were held with employees at all levels of the organisation: (i) employees working at the Bureau, including jurists, (ii) IT-personnel, (iii) committee members and chairpersons, and (iv) management. Furthermore, an interview with the Homeshop trade association was conducted as well.The observations concerned offline and remote hearings. The hearing observations took place mainly in conjunction with the case file analysis in 2019. Later, at the end of 2021 and early 2022, remote hearings were observed. In total, three offline hearing sessions were observed in the period 18 September 2019 to 9 October 2019, and ...