Judiciary Adviser Calls for English Law to Keep Pace With Crypto: Report

A technology adviser to the head of the judiciary wants an independent body to highlight areas of the law that are not keeping up with disruptive technologies such as crypto.

By Jamie Crawley

Jan 14, 2022 at 10:03 a.m. UTC

Updated Jan 14, 2022 at 3:36 p.m. UTC

The City of London (IR Stone/Shutterstock)

Jamie Crawley

Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.

Follow @JamieCrawleyCD on Twitter

A technology adviser to the judiciary of England and Wales said there is a need for an organization to keep track of gaps in the law to see where the legal system is failing to keep up with areas such as crypto and blockchain.

Professor Richard Susskind, who advises the head of the judiciary in England and Wales, has proposed an independent body to highlight areas of the law that are not keeping up with disruptive technologies such as crypto, the Financial Times reported Friday.
Such a body would also promote English law across the world as a standard for governing blockchain-based transactions.
Some lawyers are concerned that although English law is the model of choice for finance and insurance, the country's legal sector could lose out to centers such as Singapore and Dubai if it does not keep pace with innovation.
In 2019, legal services contributed £29.6 billion ($41 billion) to the U.K. economy, according to professional body CityUK.

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