Gender, alterity, and human rights: freedom in a fishbowl

active in inviting foreign mediators to participate in BRI-related mediation through the invited mediation mechanism. In addition, court-based ODR is one of the most noticeable developments in PDR. It has advanced tremendously since China launched its ‘Smart Court Construction’ campaign in late 2016. Since then, China has established three internet courts, in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou, to deal with internet-related disputes. Furthermore, enormous resources have been invested in exploring how ODR technologies could be used in courts, such as online case-filing, online hearings and online evidence submission. However, court-based ODR is more than an online courthouse. It has drastically reshaped the way justice is administered and perceived in China. It not only increases the transparency and accessibility of justice, but also facilitates predictive decision-making and dispute prevention through the increasing use of digital software and big-data analysis. Since dispute prevention is also one of the core objectives of PDR, the authors’ views and insights in these regards would have benefitted readers tremendously.