Chinese Supreme Court – Blockchain Evidence Legal

The Supreme People’s Court of China has issued a new set of rules – applicable with immediate effect – related to internet court cases. According to these new rules, Blockchain technology can be used to authenticate electronic evidence in legal disputes.

New Ruling

The Supreme People’s Court of China announced that Internet Courts in the country would recognize electronic data as evidence if the parties that submitted this data on a Blockchain which had digital signatures, hash value verification and trusted time stamps.

Another way for digital evidence to be considered legally admissible is if it were submitted through a digital deposition platform. The parties submitting the data need to, however, also prove the authenticity of the technology that was used.

Thanks to this new ruling, data in distributed ledger technology will now be admissible in court as legal evidence. Additionally, if electronic data that has been entered in court is being disputed by any one party, then Blockchain technology can be used to authenticate the evidence.

Hangzhou Internet Court

This new ruling comes in response to the multiple questions that have arisen about various types of digital technology – especially Blockchain. The new rules the landmark ruling that was made by the Hangzhou Internet Court last year.

In June 2017, in a copyright infringement dispute between a media company and an IT company, the Hangzhou Internet Court made a first-of-its kind ruling that Blockchain technology could be used as a means to authenticate digital evidence.

China instituted the Internet Court last year because of the increasing number of online disputes as well as copyright infringement cases in the country. The Hangzhou court is the first of its kind in the country, and the Chinese government plans to open another two such Courts in Beijing and Guangzhou.

China Embracing Blockchain

Despite the fact that the Chinese government is cracking down massively on all things related to cryptocurrencies and ICOs, the country is paradoxically also as enthusiastically embracing the technology that is the cryptocurrency industry’s foundation.

China is actively adopting and research methods in which it can use Blockchain technology in trade as well as other industries. Technology giants in the country such as Tencent and Alibaba are leading the Blockchain revolution not just in China but globally. Both companies are currently leading the global patent race in Blockchain technology.

In fact, about 68% of all Blockchain based patents issued are from Chinese companies.