Abstract

This article analyses the legal nature of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain as new manifestations of digital private law operating within an emerging jurisdiction: the Internet. This jurisdiction is governed by its own principles-decentralization, universality, voluntary submission, private issuance, and self-enforcement-which constitute an autonomous regulatory order. It is, therefore, a new form of digital private law that poses significant challenges for states and traditional institutions, whose rules are alien to the normative codification of Internet jurisdiction. In this context, classic dispute resolution mechanisms face difficulties in terms of applicable law, identification of the parties, determination of jurisdiction, and, especially, enforcement of the award. Arbitration, as a dispute resolution tool, only achieves executive effectiveness within a blockchain when the enforcement of the award is incorporated into the network code itself.

This paper will be part of the TDM Special Issue on "Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets in Arbitration". More information here www.transnational-dispute-management.com/news.asp?key=2080