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Technology & the law: when worlds collide

15 October 2021 / Andrew Stafford KC , James Chapman-Booth
Issue: 7952 / Categories: Features , Property , Cyber
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Andrew Stafford QC & James Chapman-Booth explore the tort of conversion in the digital age
  • If the English law is to continue to innovate, and to match the pace of technological progress it must be freed from the legal fiction which has shackled it to a form of property that is becoming decreasingly relevant.

In 2019 Sir Geoffrey Vos, referring to cryptoassets, spoke of ‘the ability of the common law in general, and English law in particular, to respond consistently and flexibly to new commercial mechanisms’ (Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts, UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, November 2019).

The English High Court is certainly rising to the challenge. For instance, at the time of writing, the High Court has held in interlocutory proceedings that:

  • cryptocurrency is a form of property (although the form of that property remains an open question) (eg AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm));
  • the lex situs of cryptocurrency is the place where the person or company
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Birketts—trainee cohort

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NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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