Italy [Legal tech]

Abstract

Legal Tech is or at least is becoming a structural aspect in the conduct of legal affairs, in particular regarding dispute resolutions in Italy. Governmental and regulatory initiatives aimed at better defining the legislative framework of Legal Tech have emerged. Moreover, promotional initiatives supported by public and private subjects have been launched. Also, several use cases have been experimented with and developed in legal practice. This chapter, therefore, explores the state-of-the-art of the Italian legal framework concerning Legal Tech issues, having regard to blockchain and dispute resolution systems. The structure of the chapter is as follows. Paragraph 1 focuses on blockchain and distributed ledgers technologies. Paragraphs 2 focuses on digital tools applied to court proceedings in civil law matters, and paragraph 3 highlights novelties emerging in this concern due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paragraph 4 concerns alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in financial sectors and applying technology within this field. At least, Paragraph 5 presents concluding remarks.