Researchers from some foremost universities have designed a blockchain-based digital court. The court will originally target cases, including contracts, sales, auctions, and other civil cases. It will recognize and punish those who vary from legal obligations.

The project was directed by Professor Hitoshi Matsushima from the University of Tokyo in Japan and Shunya Noda from the University of British Columbia in Canada. In their press release, the researchers said that the new system could be completed right away as it depends on enduring technology. It eliminates the requirement for a costly legal process and avails justice to all.

The interested parties will make a deposit before the test begins, Professor Matsushima explained. He said, “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 agreement.”

Most of the processes included will happen away from the blockchain, the researchers said. The blockchain will only be applied to support records of the parties’ association with an agreement. This is to reduce costs, as increasing the number of communications with a blockchain system can push up the associated costs.

While blockchain technology has demonstrated to be very effective, it has gained a lot of bad press, with many connecting the technology with multiple of the scams that have moved the digital currency industry. Others have come to understand, wrongly so, that the absence of a central authority in a blockchain system indicates that it can be used for evil intentions by malicious parties. This negative press will influence this system, the researchers believe. Lawmakers must put regulations in place to preserve the emerging technology.

“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. We have found a way to satisfy agreements without traditional legal enforcement or the long-term reciprocal relationships which might ordinarily keep the players honest,” Matsushima said.

The usage of blockchain in the justice system has proceeded to grow, with China’s smart courts the best example. These courts have resolved millions of cases, merging blockchain with other developing technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence.