A grouping of researchers has devised a blockchain-based mechanism to perform legal functions in a then-called "digital court," co-ordinate to an April 6 announcement.

Professors Hitoshi Matsushima from the University of Tokyo, and Shunya Noda from the University of British Columbia, take been leading the project, which aims to settle legal disputes without the demand for a "plush legal process."

In the proclamation, the University of Tokyo clarified that this would exist an extension of existing ideas for smart contracts without a centralized administration.

A digital court's advantages and challenges

The University says that the benefit of the organisation is that most stages occur away from the blockchain, which is only invoked to maintain records of the parties involved in the dispute.

Professor Matsushima provided additional details regarding the design of the blockchain-based mechanism:

"On suspected violation of some agreement, those involved post their opinions to this digital court. The court algorithmically aggregates the parties' opinions and judges who violated their agreement. If the digital court judges that a party violated the agreement, the party is fined by withholding a deposit made during the initial understanding."

However, they clarify that in that location is a key gene that they must confront with this machinery. The technology, according to the researchers, has received "bad press" due to its decentralized nature. In fact, they expressed concern that the digital court would exist open to the same upshot.

Responding to such concerns, Matsushima said the post-obit:

"Blockchains in some ways are a double-edged sword. But this kind of system signals the dawn of a new economic paradigm that must be embraced and explored rather than feared and ignored."

Prior instance cases

This "digital court" mechanism is not new in the world. Cointelegraph reported on February 12 that Aragon Courtroom had launched a decentralized online court.

At that time, the team behind the design of the system aimed to eliminate "traditional bogus barriers such as national jurisdictions or the borders of a single state" when it comes to mediating disputes.