Coimisiún na Meán certifies the first Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Body in Ireland

Coimisiún na Meán, has today 08.10.2024 published details of the certification of Appeals Centre Europe (ACE) as an Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement (ODS) Body. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), bodies which are established in Ireland may apply to us for certification as an ODS Body.

An ODS body can help online users resolve disputes relating to decisions of online platforms, including complaints that have not been resolved by means of the internal complaint-handling system of an online platform. The decisions of ODS bodies are not binding.

ACE, a company registered in Ireland, have been granted certification for a period of five years, from 26 September 2024 to 26 September 2029. The area of expertise for which the certification is granted is the application and enforcement of terms and conditions of online platforms.

To be certified as an ODS body an applicant must satisfy the following conditions as set out in Article 21 of the DSA.

• Impartiality and independence, including financially independence, in relation to providers of online platforms and recipients of the service.
• Expertise in relation to areas of illegal content, or in relation to the application and enforcement of terms and conditions of online platforms.
• Remuneration, which requires that ODS body members are remunerated in a way that is not linked to the outcome of the procedure.
• Accessibility, which requires that the ODS settlement is easily accessible, through electronic communications technology and provides for the possibility to initiate the dispute settlement and to submit the requisite supporting documents online.
• Swift and efficient dispute settlement, which requires that the ODS body can settle disputes in a swift, efficient, and cost-effective manner and in at least one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union.
• Clear and fair rules, which requires that the ODS settlement takes place in accordance with clear and fair rules of procedure that are easily and publicly accessible.

Further information on the ODS Body certification process, including a guidance document and application form, can be found on our industry guidance page.