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Blockchain and Access to Justice

  • Mark Fenwick and Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci
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The De Gruyter Handbook on Law and Digital Technologies
This chapter is in the book The De Gruyter Handbook on Law and Digital Technologies

Abstract

Advocates of blockchain and related technologies believe they hold the promise of transforming access to justice by leveraging decentralization and transparency to create more effective and equitable legal processes, and a more inclusive society. Unlike alternatives, which often suffer from inefficiencies and biases resulting from excessive centralization, blockchain can eliminate intermediaries and ensure immutable records, democratizing legal resources and empowering traditionally marginalized groups and communities. This chapter explores the multifaceted impact of blockchain on access to justice, examining how blockchain-based technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) might facilitate procedural and substantive legal improvements, offering a pathway to a more just society. The chapter begins with an overview of blockchain technologies and use cases, followed by an analysis of access to justice and its emergence and development. We then explore some practical applications of blockchain in advancing access to justice, considering both procedural and substantive perspectives, taking the example of NFTs and DAOs. A critical examination of recent developments and a more skeptical narrative on the limitations and challenges of blockchain is then introduced. The chapter concludes with brief reflections on future directions, highlighting the potential and ongoing debates and challenges surrounding the integration of blockchain into existing legal frameworks and the transformative potential of technology, more generally.

Abstract

Advocates of blockchain and related technologies believe they hold the promise of transforming access to justice by leveraging decentralization and transparency to create more effective and equitable legal processes, and a more inclusive society. Unlike alternatives, which often suffer from inefficiencies and biases resulting from excessive centralization, blockchain can eliminate intermediaries and ensure immutable records, democratizing legal resources and empowering traditionally marginalized groups and communities. This chapter explores the multifaceted impact of blockchain on access to justice, examining how blockchain-based technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) might facilitate procedural and substantive legal improvements, offering a pathway to a more just society. The chapter begins with an overview of blockchain technologies and use cases, followed by an analysis of access to justice and its emergence and development. We then explore some practical applications of blockchain in advancing access to justice, considering both procedural and substantive perspectives, taking the example of NFTs and DAOs. A critical examination of recent developments and a more skeptical narrative on the limitations and challenges of blockchain is then introduced. The chapter concludes with brief reflections on future directions, highlighting the potential and ongoing debates and challenges surrounding the integration of blockchain into existing legal frameworks and the transformative potential of technology, more generally.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Authors’ Biographies IX
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Digital Technologies and Social Transformation
  6. Cyber-Humans and Robotics 7
  7. Online Disinformation: Regulatory Issues and Approaches in the European Legal Landscape 31
  8. Agile Governance: Japanese Approach to Governing Cyber-Physical Systems 53
  9. Blockchain and Access to Justice 75
  10. Data Protection, Privacy, and Unfalsifiable Predictions 95
  11. The WTO in the Digital Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Global Trade Governance: Some Fundamental Considerations 123
  12. When EU Law Meets (Large) Language Models 147
  13. The Charge of AI Systems, Smart Robots, and Information Technologies in Healthcare: A Normative Look into the Future 173
  14. Part II: The Legal Framework
  15. Sovereign Powers and Digital Liberties 191
  16. Technology As Regulation: Tensions, Transitions, and Tectonic Shifts in Governance 211
  17. The Law of Data-Driven Trade 229
  18. From AI Risks to Legal and Ethical AI Governance: A Four-Dimension Framework 251
  19. Agents and Persons? AI Systems Acting in the World and the Limits of Legal Personality 279
  20. Regulation by Design: Reshaping the Relationship between Technology Development and Law 303
  21. AI in the Courtroom: The Right to a Human Judge? 327
  22. Regulating AI Autonomy: A Constitutional Framework for the Digital Era 353
  23. Part III: Key Normative Challenges
  24. The Social Classification of Robots by Perceived Race and Gender 383
  25. Mission Impossible? Artificial Intelligence, Space Debris, and the Legal Implications for Space Sustainability 417
  26. Fintech: A Renaissance moment for Finance and its Regulation? 445
  27. Data Protection as a Normative Problem 483
  28. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability and Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: The approach of the EU AI Act 503
  29. Research Data Governance in a Digital Age 525
  30. From AI Ethics Principles to Practices: A Teleological Methodology to Apply AI Ethics Principles in the Defense Domain 549
  31. Labor Law and Automated Systems in the EU 571
  32. Index
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111346632-005

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Authors’ Biographies IX
  4. Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Digital Technologies and Social Transformation
  6. Cyber-Humans and Robotics 7
  7. Online Disinformation: Regulatory Issues and Approaches in the European Legal Landscape 31
  8. Agile Governance: Japanese Approach to Governing Cyber-Physical Systems 53
  9. Blockchain and Access to Justice 75
  10. Data Protection, Privacy, and Unfalsifiable Predictions 95
  11. The WTO in the Digital Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Global Trade Governance: Some Fundamental Considerations 123
  12. When EU Law Meets (Large) Language Models 147
  13. The Charge of AI Systems, Smart Robots, and Information Technologies in Healthcare: A Normative Look into the Future 173
  14. Part II: The Legal Framework
  15. Sovereign Powers and Digital Liberties 191
  16. Technology As Regulation: Tensions, Transitions, and Tectonic Shifts in Governance 211
  17. The Law of Data-Driven Trade 229
  18. From AI Risks to Legal and Ethical AI Governance: A Four-Dimension Framework 251
  19. Agents and Persons? AI Systems Acting in the World and the Limits of Legal Personality 279
  20. Regulation by Design: Reshaping the Relationship between Technology Development and Law 303
  21. AI in the Courtroom: The Right to a Human Judge? 327
  22. Regulating AI Autonomy: A Constitutional Framework for the Digital Era 353
  23. Part III: Key Normative Challenges
  24. The Social Classification of Robots by Perceived Race and Gender 383
  25. Mission Impossible? Artificial Intelligence, Space Debris, and the Legal Implications for Space Sustainability 417
  26. Fintech: A Renaissance moment for Finance and its Regulation? 445
  27. Data Protection as a Normative Problem 483
  28. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability and Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: The approach of the EU AI Act 503
  29. Research Data Governance in a Digital Age 525
  30. From AI Ethics Principles to Practices: A Teleological Methodology to Apply AI Ethics Principles in the Defense Domain 549
  31. Labor Law and Automated Systems in the EU 571
  32. Index
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