University News Last updated 06 July 2022
Dr Alan Ma, a Lecturer in Law at Birmingham City University, has had an article on Smart contracts published on British Computer Society’s website. The British Computer Society is, the Chartered Institute for Information Technology, and represents 60,000.
Dr Ma, who is qualified in IT, engineering and law, considers that for further advancement of legal technology and its applications, both legal and IT professionals must work together.
Blockchain and Smart contracts
A Smart contract is a computer program that defines obligations between parties, and it runs on a blockchain. Blockchain is a distributed ledger comprising of immutable blocks chained together to create an encrypted history of transactions.
Dr Ma’s article explains how Smart contracts will increase efficiency and have positive impacts on the contracting life cycle. Smart contracts can reduce disputes among parties as data and information are transparently shared within a business network. Smart contracts can be effective in commercial spaces that involve large amounts of repetitive and similar transactions for example management of supply chains in the logistics sector by providing a powerful mechanism for measuring and tracking performance.
Dr Ma’s article explains how Smart contracts are now becoming an integral part of several industries, including insurance, real estate and legal practice. The article covers the Law Society’s practice guidance, as per the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Codes of Conduct, practitioners are required to be conversant with Smart contracts.
Dr Ma says:
Birmingham City University’s School of Law is at the forefront of providing innovative courses for aspiring lawyers providing practice-based, industry-led real-world education, including an optional module on Legal Technology, which is expected to launch in 2023/24.
The article can be accessed here.