The Impact of Blockchains for Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law

Abstract

Blockchain technology presents an opportunity for government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, industry stakeholders, and, more generally, members of the public to engage in the recognition of and respect for human rights as well as to resolve current human rights issues.

Building on years of research by cryptographers and network engineers, the technology was introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31, 2008, in a whitepaper presenting the Bitcoin cryptocurrency and a whole financial system. Inspired by Bitcoin, there are today more than 18,000 cryptocurrencies in existence. Although the technology is most often associated with cryptocurrencies and other financial instruments or assets, some coins were developed for specific use cases and functions, and the development of decentralized applications and “smart contracts” allowed for the deployment of systems to manage anything from digital identities, to medical records, land titles and zoning registries, intellectual property rights, digital identity, voting systems, supply chain and aid.

This report explores the risks and potential benefits of blockchain technology for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It aims to showcase use cases and flag potential issues, as well as to provide initial recommendations to the Council of Europe for additional research and prospective programming regarding blockchain technologies.

The report highlights some of the promising features of blockchain technology and various types of implementation, from cryptocurrencies, to smart contracts, to distributed autonomous organizations (DAOs) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). It also presents some of the important limitations that may impede fundamental rights.

As the technology has numerous applications including democratic tools and support for human rights, the report presents different use opportunities in line with the Council of Europe’s global democratic agenda to advance democratic functions and ensure accountability and transparency, from digital identity and information self-determination, to supporting refugees and vulnerable populations, responsible supply chain, immutable land titles and voting systems, as well as efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.

Finally, the report discusses some of the legal issues that may arise from the use of this technology, with emphasis on matters that may welcome leadership from the Council of Europe in regards to the protection of anonymity and privacy rights; the legal status of automated contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations; and the conflict of law and jurisdiction due to the distributed and global nature. In the appendix, the report includes a table presenting the interface of blockchain technologies with the European Convention on Human Rights.

Keywords: blockchain, human rights, democracy, rule of law, smart contract, DAO, NFT, identity, law, privacy