European Union: Council adopted Directive amending Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes

On 17 November 2025, the Council of the European Union adopted the revised Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive, which updates, simplifies, and enhances the framework for resolving consumer–trader disputes outside judicial proceedings. It will make ADR available for disputes arising from contractual and pre-contractual obligations and, under conditions, extend access to disputes between EU-based consumers and traders established in third countries. Under the Directive, traders must reply within 20 days after being contacted by an ADR entity, and a lack of reply will be treated as a refusal to participate. Member States must promote participation by traders and consumers and focus on sectors with low ADR use or high complaint volumes. The European Commission must develop and maintain a multilingual IT tool supporting ADR in cross-border disputes. The Directive will take effect 20 days after publication in the Official Journal, after which Member States will have 26 months to transpose the rules, and application will begin 32 months after publication.