Law, Technology and
Dispute Resolution
The use of new information and communication technologies both inside the
courts and in private online dispute resolution services is quickly changing everyday conflict management. However, the implications of the increasingly disruptive role of technology in dispute resolution remain largely undiscussed. In this
book, assistant professor of law and digitalisation Riikka Koulu examines the
multifaceted phenomenon of dispute resolution technology, focusing specifically
on private enforcement, which modern technology enables on an unforeseen
scale. The increase in private enforcement confounds legal structures and challenges the nation-state’s monopoly on violence. And, in this respect, the author
argues that the technology-driven privatisation of enforcement – from direct
enforcement of e-commerce platforms to self-executing smart contracts in the
blockchain – brings the ethics of law’s coercive nature into the open. This
development constitutes a new, and dangerous, grey area of conflict management, which calls for transparency and public debate on the ethical implications
of dispute resolution technology.
Dr Riikka Koulu (LL.D. trained on the bench) is an assistant professor (tenure
track) on law and digitalisation based in the University of Helsinki. She also leads
the University of Helsinki Legal Tech Lab, an interdisciplinary law and technology hub at the Faculty of Law. Koulu’s research interests include legal automation, distributed ledger technologies and legal analytics as well as algorithmic
fairness and ethical implications of legal technology.