Professors Green, Tettenborn and Soyer with Simon Rainey QC during the Q&A session.
The Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law has got off to a flying start this year, delivering its second webinar of 2021 on the subject of ‘Distributed Ledger Technology and Blockchain in Shipping and Commercial Law’.
The session, attended by 150 participants from all parts of the legal sector, was chaired by IISTL member Simon Rainey QC of Quadrant Chambers, and kicked off with an upbeat account of the work of the Law Commission on the subject from Professor Sarah Green, the responsible Commissioner.
Following this, Professors Tettenborn and Soyer of the IISTL looked in some little detail at how Blockchain might affect matters such as cargo claims, shipping documentation, maring underwriting and the payment of insurance and reinsurance claims.
The session, capped by questions from the participants that generated a lively debate, fitted in perfectly with the ongoing work of the IISTL. The Institute is already very actively working on evaluating the impact of DLT and similar technologies on various aspects of commercial law, and is about to launch yet another project in this field.
The IISTL’s next webinar deals with “AI and Autonomous Shipping: Developing the International legal Framework”, and will mark the launch of a book that several members of the IISTL have been involved in.