Professor Amy J. Schmitz led a panel at the International Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Forum, and presented on “Smart Contracts and Blockchain: the Next Wave of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)” at the University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand  on Nov. 14-15.

Professor Schmitz explained applications of blockchain in legal processes, and highlighted how disputes develop with respect to smart contracts on the blockchain – despite “hype” claiming that smart contracts prevent all disputes from developing.  At the same time, Professor Schmitz shed light on emerging ODR for resolving these smart contract disputes, and uncovered the pros and cons of various blockchain ODR mechanisms before suggesting standards for ethical and effective dispute system design on the blockchain.