Publication
Australia’s new mandatory merger control regime
Mergers or acquisitions that meet certain turnover thresholds will shortly be required to be notified to the ACCC.
Blockchain law: Can there be law without people?
New York Law Journal
Two seemingly unrelated recent developments in the world of blockchain are now posing the same odd question: Can there be law without people?
Blockchain technology has enabled a world of “smart contracts”—programs stored on the blockchain that automatically run and carry out predetermined tasks when predetermined conditions are met. These smart contracts are often integrated with so-called decentralized autonomous organization (DAOs), loose groups of tokenholders who effectuate decision making through software protocols.
Can DAOs, natural persons or other legal entities be held legally responsible when outcomes that are caused or enabled by those “smart contracts” are ones that society seeks to prevent and hold unlawful? Or is no one legally responsible, so that whatever these “smart contracts” might do is simply beyond the power of the institution of the law to remedy or prevent?
Robert A. Schwinger explores recent developments in this edition of his New York Law Journal Blockchain law column.
Download the full New York Law Journal article, "Can there be law without people?"
Partner
Email
robert.schwinger@nortonrosefulbright.com
Recent publications
Publication
Financial services monthly wrap-up: March 2025
March 2025 was a busy month in the financial services space with the release of the draft bill on the second tranche of the ‘Delivering Better Financial Outcomes’ reform concerning advice provided through superannuation and client advice records.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .