Description

About the Seminar

Which law governs private disputes over assets recorded on the blockchain, such as Bitcoin, Ether or stablecoins? This question has long eluded legal academia and practice. Now, states have begun to enact hard and fast rules. In this seminar, I will compare legislative provisions and judicial rulings from the US, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, as well as the recently adopted UNIDROIT Principles on Digital Assets and Private Law.

My analysis shows a new emerging gulf in the conflict of laws because of the law governing blockchain assets being determined in different ways. This risks undermining even further the functioning of the crypto economy. That is why I suggest a novel approach.

To this end, I will distil from the various national and international approaches an ‘ideal’ conflict-of-laws rule, which can serve as a blueprint for national legislators and/or courts. The hope is that this may lead to more consensus around the world on the law governing digital assets. This is dearly needed if the blockchain is to fulfil its promise as a trusted storage of value, a catalyst of global commerce, and a means of furthering financial inclusion.

About the Speaker

Matthias Lehmann is a full professor for private law, private international and comparative law at the University of Vienna (Austria), as well as professor for European and comparative business law at the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands). His main interest lies in international and comparative aspects of financial law. He is regularly invited as a guest professor at the Sorbonne University (France), the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain). Matthias is a member of the Council of the European Law Institute (ELI), of the American Law Institute (ALI), of the Academia Europaea (AE), of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute (EBI), and of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL). He has been visiting the London School of Economics, Oxford University, Stanford University, and is now visiting the National University of Singapore. Matthias has participated in the European Commission’s Expert Group on Conflict of Laws Regarding Securities and Claims and in various UNIDROIT Working Groups, inter alia the one on Digital Assets and Private Law.