Features of Determining the Seat of Online Arbitration

Online arbitration is predominantly conducted in a digital environment, lacking any physical connection to a specific geographical location. This raises the question of whether and how the seat of online arbitration can be determined. The paper argues that the seat of online arbitration, similar to that in traditional arbitration, constitutes a legal fiction independent of the actual place where the dispute is adjudicated. The seat may be expressly agreed by the parties. In the absence of such an agreement, the arbitral institution or the arbitral tribunal shall determine the seat, taking into account the factual circumstances of the case, procedural aspects of the dispute resolution, the quality of legal regulation and law enforcement practice in potential jurisdictions, and the convenience of the parties. In determining the seat of online arbitration, additional relevant factors include the national domain affiliation of the platform used for dispute resolution, the location of the online service provider, the possibility of conducting online proceedings in the state courts of the arbitration seat, the nature of the parties' activities on the Internet, etc. In analyzing these factors, arbitrators should follow a pro-arbitration approach and strive to select the most favorable legal order for the arbitration, one that guarantees effective dispute resolution and subsequent enforcement of the online arbitration award.

1. Bibikov S. E. Ponyatiya mesta arbitrazha pri rassmotrenii spora mezhdu dvumya natsionalnymi yuridicheskimi litsami v inostrannom arbitrazhe // Problemy prava. — № 5 (74). — 2019. — S. 70–73. 2. Born G. Mezhdunarodnyy arbitrazh: pravo i praktika / per. s angl. pod red. N. A. Babadzhanyana. — M.: Rossiyskiy institut sovremennogo arbitrazha, 2020. — 870 s. 3. Bocharova A. M. Perspektivy sozdaniya v ramkakh BRIKS edinogo mekhanizma razresheniya sporov v sfere elektronnoy kommertsii // Vestnik Universiteta imeni O.E. Kutafina (MGYuA). — 2025. — № 3 (127). — S. 212–219. 4. Zasemkova O. F. O sposobakh razresheniya sporov, voznikayushchikh iz smart-kontraktov // Lex russica. — 2020. — № 4. — S. 9–20. 5. Kurochkin S. A. Noveyshie techeniya v zarubezhnoy doktrine mezhdunarodnogo kommercheskogo arbitrazha: kratkiy obzor // Vestnik grazhdanskogo protsessa. — 2015. — № 6. — S. 42–68. 6. Kurochkin S. A. Onlayn-arbitrazh: pravovye aspekty // Pravo v sfere Interneta: sbornik statey / ruk. avt. kol. i otv. red. M. A. Rozhkova. — M.: Statut, 2018. — S. 476–494. 7. Mezhdunarodnyy kommercheskiy arbitrazh: uchebnik / S. A. Abesadze, T. K. Andreeva, V. N. Anurov [i dr.]; otv. red. T. A. Lunaeva; nauch. red. O. Yu. Skvortsov, M. Yu. Savranskiy, G. V. Sevastyanov. — 2-e izd., pererab. i dop. — SPb.: Redaktsiya zhurnala «Treteyskiy sud»; M.: Statut, 2018. — 965 s. 8. Panov A. A. Onlayn-arbitrazh: problemy, resheniya, perspektivy // Novye gorizonty mezhdunarodnogo arbitrazha. Vyp. 2: sbornik statey / pod red. A. V. Asoskova, A. I. Muranova, R. M. Khodykina. — M.: Infotropik Media, 2014. — S. 111–153. 9. Puchkov V. O. Onlayn-arbitrazh v Rossii i za rubezhom: kollizionnye aspekty pravovogo regulirovaniya // Arbitrazhnye spory. — 2018. — № 4. — S. 119–125. 10. Terenteva L. V. Sudebnaya yurisdiktsiya po transgranichnym chastnopravovym sporam v kiberprostranstve: dis. … d-ra yurid. nauk. — M., 2021. — 442 s. 11. Terenteva L. V. Territorialnyy aspekt yurisdiktsii i suvereniteta gosudarstva v kiberprostranstve // Lex russica. — 2019. — № 4. — S. 139–150. 12. Terekhov V. V., Lungu I. Ponyatie i klyuchevye osobennosti onlayn-razresheniya sporov // Vestnik grazhdanskogo protsessa. — 2021. — № 4. — S. 153–178. 13. Amro I. The Use of Online Arbitration in the Resolution of International Commercial Disputes // Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law & Arbitration. — 2014. — Vol. 18. — P. 129–147. 14. Girsberger D., Schramm D. Cyber-Arbitration // European Business Organization Law Review. — 2002. — Vol. 3. — Issue 3. — P. 611–628. 15. Philippe M. Where is everyone going with online dispute resolution (ODR)? // International Business Law Journal. — 2002. — No. 2. — P. 167–211. 16. Solovay N., Reed C. The Internet and Dispute Resolution: Untangling the Web. — New York, 2003. — 650 p