Virtual Jurisdictions

In this future, one or more global "virtual jurisdictions" exist, over and above, in some cases instead of, the geography-based legal frameworks that operate today. These new jurisdictions will be preferred as they offer something their traditional alternatives cannot provide consistently: transparency, fairness and incorruptibility.

Unlike the legal jurisdictions that exist today that are regularly manipulated by the whims of the powerful, future virtual jurisdictions will be governed by the principle of Code is Law, meaning that for the first time, humanity can operate under actual, as opposed to the guise of, Rule of Law, codified not in esoteric and misinterpretable legal texts, but in pure mathematics.

Code is Law is made possible by blockchain technology, and is a straightforward concept that keeps these virtual jurisdictions sovereign. It means that the code of a Smart Contract is the ultimate arbiter of the outcome of an on-chain interaction, as opposed to some overriding force from outside the network. As a result, applications are unstoppable, and run exactly as programmed without downtime, censorship, or third party interference.

When individuals voluntarily engage with Smart Contracts on a chain that follows Code is Law, they accept the outcome of whatever logic is defined within those contracts. If a contract is poorly written or has a mistake, it is not the responsibility of the wider network to "make whole" parties who are not happy with a given outcome. In short, there are no do-overs, bailouts or refunds, unless pre-programmed.