Bringing Blockchain to Justice

We all say we want world peace and it’s easy to see how such an achievement would make the planet a better place. The Sustainable Development Goals know this and SDG 16 seeks to create a world of “peace, justice and strong institutions.” Although this may seem like a bit of a pipe dream (or the rallying cry of a superhero or a beauty queen) the power that comes with blockchain could actually make the goal possible.

Peace is something we have always been striving for and we need any tools we can get to achieve this goal. Blockchain is a powerhouse technology and it shouldn’t be surprising to think that it could prove to be the needed piece to achieve a peaceful world.

Great minds know this and are banding together to figure out a path. Their meeting ground? Blockchain for Peace. A community resource centre or collaboration hub founded by the Peace Accelerators and Stanford’s Peace Innovation Lab this initiative gives brilliant minds access to an open-source knowledge library and, through hackathons, the chance to bounce ideas off each other.

Imagine it: Teams of developers, designers and legal professionals working together to brainstorm how to make real positive change. This is exactly what we need for a better future.

The justice system is one of the things that separates us from the animals and has a strong role in keeping our society functioning and fair. Contracts and contract law have a long history, with references extending at least back to ancient Greece. The notion of creating a binding agreement between parties is huge and is arguably why societies have been able to function peacefully.

That being said, there is always room for improvement. Renegotiations and delays can hamper business deals and this is not good for any of the parties.

Thanks to the blockchain, the contracted parties have a modern way to do business, reducing costs and simplifying the process for both sides. This is why smart contracts will prove to be a great asset when it comes to upgrading our justice system, bringing it into the technological era.

Take Kleros for example. As the website says, “Life isn’t always fair, but Kleros is.” Its decentralized platform is set to change the dispute resolution process. The system puts the dispute in front of highly qualified jurors and leaves it to them to decide the outcome. Once the decision is rendered it is enforced by the smart contract.

OpenLaw is another innovator using smart contracts to upgrade contract law. Its system is designed to help users easily create and execute legal agreements. Users access its templates and use these to create the required contracts, which are then sent to the involved parties to be signed. After signing is completed the smart contracts will go through with execution.

These companies are great examples of how contracts are being brought to the next level thanks to blockchain. It’s pretty exciting.

Contract law is far from the only section of the legal world set to receive an upgrade from blockchain. Its technology is set to change how we manage our evidence. After all, our world is becoming more entwined with the digital sphere and we need a solid way to ensure the two areas coalesce.

Digital evidence is a growing and important factor in the legal world. That being said, digital evidence can be hard to manage, especially when it comes to its origin and authentication.

This is where blockchain comes into play. The encrypted, immutable and secure nature of blockchain means the evidence can be viewed by the necessary parties and each viewer leaves a digital signature, ensuring any suspected tampering is traceable.

We need this technology to ensure our legal world remains strong as more and more of our lives rely on the online world. I feel safer knowing they’ve already worked out what to do.

Finally, blockchain is exactly what we need to build strong institutions. The very nature of the technology leads to stronger accountability, impartiality and transparency. Quite possibly we would be unable to achieve SDG 16 without the assistance of blockchain.

“Peace, justice and strong institutions.” Imagine the good will be able to do and the quality of life we will have once we achieve this goal. I don’t think I’m being too optimistic by looking forward to that day.