Blockchain and Other Disruptive Business-tech Challenges to the Law - Period 4

New technologies, such as, inter alia, blockchain, the sharing economy and fintech challenge the existing order, by posing new questions concerning responsibility, liability, complaince with existing rules, governance, and ultimately a state?s power to regulate and enforce within its own territory. Technologies challenge us to re-consider: why do we have regulation covering these respective areas in the first place. What do we want to achieve? Is that still relevant? If so, is there any way in which we still can strive to these goals? For example, blockchain technology underlies phenomena like cryptocurrencies and smart contracts, effectively undermining the need for trusted third parties like banks, public notaries, etc. As things are today, what do we need trusted third parties for? Is the regulation that empowers them still relevant and necessary? How can we protect consumers, how can we guarantee financial stability? The course is not just about the challenges that use of new technologies pose to the law, but also about how the law can enable and shape new technologies and maybe steer developments in a certain direction. In this course an attempt is made to map the area, to discuss the issues with the students, in order to shape our understanding of what is going on and form an opinion.

Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course therefore, CEA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by VU Amsterdam. 1 ECTS equals 28 contact hours assigned by VU Amsterdam.