SMART CONTRACTS,

BLOCKCHAIN, & THE FUTURE

OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Michael Christopher, S.H.

Lawyers Meeting 10 March 2023

WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?
 MANUAL DIGITAL
LEDGER LEDGER

Transactions are Transactions are recorded

automatically in a server, access to
recorded manually
which are only possessed by 1 party
 DECENTRALIZED LEDGER A.K.A.
BLOCKCHAIN
GENESIS
BLOCK

A chain of blocks which are connected sequentially.

Transactions are recorded automatically in the chain of blocks (serves as the whole
server), access to which are consensually possessed by every blocks therein.
 HOW DOES BLOCKCHAIN WORK?
COMMENCEMEN ‘STAMPED’
MINING ‘CHAINED’
T Transaction is
Transaction request is Block is created The block is then stamped and become
sent to the blockchain and validated added to the chain immutable

Miners will be
remunerated for the
mining activities
= Bankers
ANATOMY & FEATURES OF
BLOCKCHAIN
Anatomy:
• Block
• Previous hash value
• Current hash value (transaction code) = generated by Miners

Features:
• Programmable with smart contracts  practicality.
• Time-stamped in each block (chronologically dependent) 
difficult to individually replicate or manipulate.
• Decentralized (no intermediary)  effective and efficient
for verification.
• Practically immutable, due to the locally embedded hash
formula  security.
 SMART CONTRACT
“Self executing programs which run on the blockchain and
are capable of enforcing rules, consequences, and
computation over every transaction happening in the
blockchain.” (S. Asharaf & S. Adarsh 2017)
 HOW DOES SMART CONTRACT
WORK?
COMMENCEME MINING ‘CHAINED’ ‘STAMPED’
NT

SMART
CONTRACT
(bytecode)
CASE STUDY: Blockchain-
Powered Supply Chain
 GENERAL PRACTICAL USE OF
BLOCKCHAIN
Financial Services
• Monetary payment instrument (e.g., NFT can be bought by ETH)
Public Notary System
• Identity validation;
• Notarization (e-signing through blockchain-powered app).
Digital Assets and Stocks
• Bitcoin, Doge, Ethereum, etc.
Supply Chain
• Walmart
Voting System
• Immutable identification and data storing
 PRACTICAL USE OF BLOCKCHAIN
IN DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Blockchain Arbitration
• Transactions are conducted based on blockchain, with smart contract, violation
to which will be ”adjudicated” accordingly pursuant to the smart contract.

Blockchain as Evidence
• Proof of transaction carried out within the system (internal verification); and
• Authentication system for information produced outside the system (external
verification).
 BLOCKCHAIN ARBITRATION
Key Features
• Fully Automated
• No third party necessary
• Secure, confidential, and effective

Drawbacks and Challenges:

• Jurisdiction
• Conflict of Law
• Enforcement to court
• Document production  nature of blockchain: ‘stiff’ and rigid (immutable)
 CASE STUDY: Hybrid Arbitration Clause
in a Leasing Contract in Mexico in 2020
Facts:
• Anonymous parties established a lease contract in Mexico in 1 September 2020.
• Dispute resolution clause: hybrid arbitration clause, where traditional arbitrators will be
appointed, the award of which are rendered pursuant to Kleros protocol as the law
governing the “substance of the award”.
• The award are then rendered by the tribunal in concert with Kleros. In the enforcement
stage, local Mexican court recognized and enforced the said award, after examining
regarding any potential violation to statutes and laws.

Chain of Order:
Tribunal  Procedural Order  Relays to Kleros  Case Examination  Final Award (Kleros).
THANK YOU