An analysis of the dispute resolution processes for illicit contracts in Dark Web markets

This paper seeks to unravel how participants in the marketplaces of the Dark Web have access to dispute avoidance tools and dispute resolution systems designed to minimise and settle disputes arising from illicit transactions. A growing number of individuals go the Dark Web to carry out mostly illegal activities, which range from the purchase of illegal drugs to the purchase of ransomware and weapons. Payments typically take place via an escrow system that holds the cryptocurrency paid by anonymous buyers to anonymous sellers until the buyers confirm their satisfaction with the transaction. When buyers are not satisfied and cannot settle their complaint directly with the seller, they can start a dispute whereby typically an independent adjudicator freezes the payment in the escrow and considers the evidence provided by the parties, and often also the views of the marketplace community, and determines the outcome of the dispute. The paper examines the dispute avoidance and resolution tools that seek to enhance trust in anonymous peer to peer illicit transactions, and it argues that these emerging dispute resolution systems are contributing to the organic growth of a civil justice ecosystem for the Dark Web.