08:30 am

At 23:00 CET, Russian television broadcasts President Putin's declaration of war on Ukraine. NATO's reaction: it tries to convene an emergency meeting for 08:30 the next day.

One can easily imagine Vladimir Putin trembling before this reaction. But that is not the topic here, rather the question, what connection does this geopolitical process have with LegalTech and the development of democratic legal systems?

Quite simply, even in 2022 the fast eat the slow. And even if there is no public discourse about it, there are parallel processes. For example, the enforcement of small claims, which have largely migrated from the courts to dispute resolution systems such as Ebay. Does anyone wonder if this abandonment of state authority is actually desirable? No, we are drowning in ethical discussions about blockchain, even though it has the potential to further erode the democratically legitimized rule of law.

Deluded warlords and technological developments have surprising things in common: Those who usurp the law of action have a clear advantage. Contemporary democratic structures tend to be at a disadvantage.

Mandatory vaccination as a prototype for digital legislation?

Recently, I reflected here on possibilities to (partially) automate the legal system by using machine-readable language. As chance would have it, just in these days the current work of a Viennese doctoral student of law became known, who has set an initiative in this direction:

Since the beginning of February, the so-called "vaccination obligation" against COVID-19 has been in effect in Austria. But what does "in effect" mean. The associated law and the implementing ordinance issued on the basis of the law comprise a total of 35 paragraphs with countless subdivisions (paragraph, numbers) - not a text from which one can see at a glance how a particular circumstance is to be classified.

On his Website impfpflichterfüllt.at Paul Eberstaller leads the questioners with few, simple questions by the topic and offers at the end a clear answer: the inoculation status is valid or not valid. According to his own information, he needed only four hours for the development.

And now I wonder: compulsory vaccination is one of the most hotly debated topics in Austria because it deeply interferes with people's right to self-determination. If it is possible, even in this highly sensitive area, to formulate legal regulations so clearly that specific facts can be measured against them mechanically - why does this exception not become the rule? This would serve everyone!

About the child and the bath

Since it recently became known how great the influence of politics is on the appointment of top judges (and all top administrative posts) in Austria, the Republic has outdone itself in cries of horror and suggestions for improvement.

The undermining of the separation of powers through massive party-political influence on the appointment of higher-ranking judges is, of course, to be condemned. Nevertheless, the general outrage is unjustified. This system has existed at least since the Second World War; it is even partly stipulated in the constitution. What is new, at most, is that "evidence" is on the table for the first time. In any case, many of those who are raising their voices today have themselves come to their top function in precisely this way. Presumably, they are also too young to still remember the clarification of the AKH scandal.

It is also exciting that only coalition parties and members of the federal government are ever mentioned. Yet it is precisely the Federal President who, as an elected politician, has the last word according to the B-VG - and highly respected former Federal Presidents knew how to make extensive use of this possibility by a simple trick: they perfected the art of not signing.

So now, according to one proposal, judges and prosecutors should only be able to be appointed by judicial nomination during their entire career path. At first glance, this sounds tempting, but it overlooks two key facts:

First, judges are human beings, too, and thus not free of political persuasion. Influence, which will certainly continue to be desired by politicians, then shifts to another level.

Secondly, with all due respect and completely disregarding the specific individuals currently acting, the following should also be considered: Systems, which complete themselves exclusively from themselves, tend generally to petrification. Not every passing over of a line-up proposal has to be politically motivated, there can also be solid reasons for it. In any case, quite abstractly, and again emphasized, without looking at any concrete persons, it cannot be assumed that change agents make it into those positions in the judiciary and the administration of justice that enable them to have such an effect even if the "system" itself decides on its supplementation.

So much for the cause and for the sake of the cause. There are certainly ways to unite both goals in a meaningful and objective way.