UK legal authorities to review international laws on crypto for legal reforms

In the second half of 2023, the legal review authority will seek to prepare ideas for legal reform for public comment.

Through a government-commissioned project, the Law Commission of England and Wales will start looking into private international legal issues involving cryptocurrencies.

The assessment, which was announced on October 18, would clarify how international law addresses cutting-edge technology such as cryptocurrency, digital assets, and electronic records.

The goal of the law reform project, titled “Digital Assets: Which Law, Which Court?” is to define current international legal norms and their application to digital environments in order to suggest legal changes that will keep British laws current.

The Ministry of Justice is funding the initiative, which aims to provide reform ideas that will be released for public input by the second half of 2023.

The announcement emphasized the numerous conflict of law difficulties that have arisen as a result of the widespread usage of blockchain technology. As a result, users, companies, and governments now face legal ambiguity.

Considering whether courts have the authority or jurisdiction to hear disputes and which laws should be implemented is a significant barrier.

This is also because cryptocurrencies and other digital assets like nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are intangible, scattered, and difficult to define geographically, which further complicates legal considerations.

In light of the United Kingdom’s efforts to become a center for the adoption of cryptocurrencies, the declaration also emphasized its goal of promoting cutting-edge digital technologies like cryptocurrencies there.