A legislative effort in the state of Vermont to recognize blockchain data in the court system is inching closer to completion, and only needs a governor’s signature to become enshrined in law. Buried inside an economic development bill recently passed by both the Vermont House and Senate is legislative language that, if approved, would make it so that "a fact or record" verified through blockchain technology is "authentic".
Put more simply, a document notarized using a network like the bitcoin blockchain will have more legal bearing in court. This use case has emerged as one of the more notable applications of the technology, being used to certify physical objects like artworks , precious stones and even high-value footwear .
The bill effectively harmonizes blockchain data with existing state law related to the kinds of evidence admissible in court, according to Rep Bill Botzow, who chairs the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development. He said the final language was the result of collaboration between the Vermont Law School – spearheaded by academic Oliver Goodenough – legislators, the Uniform Law Commission and representatives from the state court system.
Botzow told CoinDesk: "With this bill, what I’m most pleased about is the way which it passed. It received final input from the courts – the judge on the Supreme Court is the court administrator from the law school – and others from that community to make sure what we wrote lined up with the rules of evidence." The efforts come months after the Vermont legislature approved and subsequently published a report on the effectiveness of using a blockchain to enhance state recordkeeping processes.
While that report ultimately concluded that any savings derived from building a new system wouldn’t be worth the cost, it did recommend that the government explore legislative options for encouraging applications […]
