Blockchain technologies are deployed increasingly as an alternative and concurrence to legal and political institutions. But what kind of ordering and normative capacity do blockchain technologies appeal to? Exploring dynamics through which tech-driven law is advancing, this talk unpacks the rationalities valued to deploy code as a governance tool.
In response to the fogginess and inefficiencies of law, the assurance of an interoperable, effective, and predictable set of decisions and instructions re-enchants formal, objective, and efficient ordering, at last, purging normativity from interpretation. Contrary to the claims of disruption and displacement of law through technology, the relationship between law and code in blockchain technology can be understood as one of affirmation and continuation of a particular stream of legal thinking, a commitment to a strong, yet crude version, of formalism. This automation and the fantasy of unambiguous language in code also indicate that blockchain technology attempts to enhance human law by superseding the limitations of the human mind with the help of technology.
Delphine Dogot is Associate professor of Law at the Faculty of Law of Université catholique de Lille, based in the Paris-Issy Campus. She is the Director of LeStudio, a collaborative and creative digital/law lab and the Academic Director of the Summer School and University Degree on Law and Digital Technologies.
Dr Dogot researches and teaches in the areas of law and technology, international law and legal philosophy, in particular in relation to global governance, risk and security. Her research investigates the tech-driven transformation of law and governance. Before joining the Faculty of Law, Delphine Dogot was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Law Department of HEC Paris, an OXPO Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, an Exchange Doctoral Student at Harvard Law School, a Fellow at Sciences Po Law School and a Researcher the Perelman Centre for Legal Philosophy at ULB where she is now an affiliate researcher.
She teaches or has taught at Sciences Po Paris, Université Aix-Marseille, HEC Paris, Université Panthéon Assas, Universidad des Los Andes, Université Libre de Bruxelles et Universidad UNISINOS Porto Alegre.Trained in law and philosophy, Delphine Dogot holds a Ph.D. in Law from Sciences Po Law School, Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Law from Université Panthéon Sorbonne, an M.A in Sociology and B.A. in Philosophy from Université Paris Sorbonne.