The DIKE – Digitalisation and Access to Justice Research Group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is delighted to announce the publication of the Special Section “Smart Contracts, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and Digital Dispute Resolution” in the European Journal of Law and Technology (EJLT), Volume 17, Number 2 (2026).
The Special Section brings together eight original scientific contributions examining the transformative impact of emerging digital technologies on contemporary legal frameworks, judicial processes, regulatory compliance, and fundamental rights.
The publication is introduced by the editorial “Redefining Legal Landscapes: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts and Digital Dispute Resolution”, authored by Gioia Arnone, Marco Giacalone, Flora Amato, Gagandeep Kaur, and Anand S. Upadhyaya.
The initiative represents an important contribution to the interdisciplinary dialogue between law and technology, bringing together international scholars to investigate how legal systems can respond to the opportunities and challenges generated by technological innovation.
Redefining Legal Landscapes: From Technological Innovation to Legal Enforceability
The rapid development of artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, smart contracts, and cryptocurrencies is fundamentally reshaping the relationship between private actors, public institutions, and legal systems.
While these technologies offer opportunities to improve efficiency, transparency, and accessibility, they also challenge traditional legal concepts, including jurisdiction, liability, regulatory oversight, institutional accountability, and the enforceability of rights.
The Special Section addresses these challenges by examining the interaction between technological innovation and the foundational principles of contemporary legal orders.
A central theme emerging from the contributions is that technological innovation must remain compatible with legal certainty, effective judicial protection, and the rule of law.
The editorial situates this debate within a broader research perspective closely aligned with the DEUCE project, emphasising the importance of preserving the enforceability of rights in increasingly digital environments.
Rather than approaching emerging technologies as isolated technical developments, the Special Section explores their systemic implications for legal governance, institutional legitimacy, and access to justice.
Its central question is: How can legal systems accommodate the transformative potential of emerging technologies while ensuring that rights remain enforceable, institutions remain accountable, and justice remains accessible?
Eight Contributions Exploring the Future of Law and Technology
The Special Section brings together eight original research articles addressing interconnected dimensions of digital transformation, from judicial enforcement and smart contracts to financial regulation, public administration, and fundamental rights.
Digital Justice and Judicial Enforcement
The contribution “From Fragmentation to Integration: A Preliminary Comparative Perspective to Enhance EEO and EPO Enforcement through Predictive and Blockchain-based Mechanisms”, by Marianna Molinari and Marco Giacalone, examines the potential of predictive technologies and blockchain-based mechanisms to support more integrated approaches to cross-border judicial enforcement.
In “Digital Justice by Default in EU Family Law: Implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/2844 in Asset-Division Procedures”, Andrea Filippo Ferraris, Susanna Picariello, and Marco Giacalone investigate the implications of European judicial digitalisation for family law proceedings, with particular attention to asset-division procedures.
These contributions highlight how digital technologies may support judicial cooperation while raising questions concerning procedural safeguards, interoperability, and effective access to justice.
Smart Contracts, Procedural Law, and Cross-Border Disputes
The article “Smart Contracts vis-à-vis Procedural Law: Jurisdictional Challenges, Recognition and Enforceability in Cross-border Disputes”, by Nicolas Kyriakides and Ioanna Dimitra Theodosopoulou, explores the relationship between automated contractual arrangements and traditional procedural law.
The research addresses questions concerning jurisdiction, recognition, and enforceability, contributing to the debate on how legal systems should respond to disputes arising from decentralised and automated transactions.
Blockchain and the Digital Transformation of Public Administration
In “The Role of Blockchain in Public Administration’s Standardisation and Digitalisation Challenges”, Ludovico Papalia, Chantal Bomprezzi, and Monica Palmirani examine blockchain's potential contribution to the modernisation of administrative processes.
The article contributes to the discussion on how distributed technologies can interact with public-sector digitalisation, standardisation, and institutional governance.
Banking Compliance and AI-Blockchain Governance
The contribution “Banking Compliance in the Age of Smart Contracts: Rethinking MOG 231 with AI Blockchain Governance”, by Giovanni Scirè, Gioia Arnone, and Giovanni Mistretta, investigates emerging approaches to corporate compliance through the integration of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and smart contracts.
The article explores the relationship between technological innovation and organisational compliance frameworks, particularly in the context of Italian Legislative Decree No. 231/2001.
Cryptocurrencies, Illicit Finance, and Sustainable Markets
In “Cryptocurrencies and Illicit Finance: How Criminal Networks Undermine Sustainable Financial Markets”, Gioia Arnone, Enzo Bivona, and Costantino Visconti examine the relationship between crypto-assets, illicit financial activities, criminal networks, and financial market sustainability.
The contribution addresses challenges posed by cryptocurrencies to financial integrity, regulatory enforcement, and the development of transparent and sustainable financial ecosystems.
Private and Commercial Law in the Crypto-Asset Era
The article “Adapting Italian Private and Commercial Law to Crypto-Assets”, by Emilia Richiello, investigates how established principles of private and commercial law can respond to the distinctive characteristics of crypto-assets.
The contribution highlights the importance of adapting legal classifications and regulatory approaches to evolving digital economic relationships.
Blockchain, Public Health, and Fundamental Rights
The contribution “A Science for Policy Approach for Blockchain in Queer Public Health: Integrating Value-Sensitive Design and Legal Safeguards for Equitable Technological Innovation”, by Adam Poulsen and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, expands the discussion beyond financial and judicial applications.
The article explores how blockchain innovation can be approached through value-sensitive design and legal safeguards, emphasising equitable technological development and the protection of fundamental rights in public health contexts.
Strengthening the Dialogue Between Technology, Institutions, and Justice
Taken together, the eight contributions demonstrate that digital transformation requires more than the adoption of innovative technological solutions.
It demands a comprehensive reconsideration of the relationship between automated processes, legal institutions, regulatory frameworks, and the rights of individuals.
Across their different areas of investigation, the articles share three fundamental concerns: the enforceability of legal rights, the legitimacy of technological governance, and the accessibility of justice.
These themes are central to DIKE's research agenda and its commitment to exploring how digital technologies can contribute to more transparent, efficient, inclusive, and accountable legal systems.
The Special Section also reflects the importance of international and interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, connecting researchers from different academic institutions and legal traditions to address challenges that increasingly transcend national boundaries.
Advancing DIKE's Research Mission
For the DIKE Research Group, this publication represents another milestone in its activities at the intersection of law, technology, and access to justice.
Through interdisciplinary research and international academic cooperation, DIKE seeks to promote a deeper understanding of how emerging technologies can support legal innovation without compromising fundamental rights and institutional safeguards.
The Special Section contributes to this mission by bringing legal scholarship into dialogue with developments in artificial intelligence, blockchain governance, digital finance, judicial cooperation, and technological accountability.
It also reinforces the importance of connecting academic research with policy discussions and practical challenges faced by legal professionals, regulators, public institutions, and citizens.
The future of digital justice depends not only on what technology makes possible, but also on how legal systems ensure that innovation remains accountable, rights remain enforceable, and justice remains accessible to all.
The Special Section has been published in the European Journal of Law and Technology, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to exploring the relationship between law and technological developments within a European and international context.
Its open-access publication makes the research available to academics, policymakers, legal practitioners, public institutions, technology developers, and other stakeholders interested in the future of digital legal systems.
DIKE extends its sincere appreciation to all contributing authors, reviewers, editorial collaborators, and academic partners whose expertise and dedication made this scientific initiative possible.
Through publications such as this Special Section, DIKE continues to build bridges between legal scholarship, technological innovation, and society, contributing to a future in which digital transformation strengthens rather than undermines the rule of law and access to justice.
Read the Special Section
European Journal of Law and Technology (EJLT)
Volume 17, Number 2 (2026)
Editorial authors: Gioia Arnone, Marco Giacalone, Flora Amato, Gagandeep Kaur, Anand S. Upadhyaya
Published: 29 September 2026
Explore the complete Special Section: https://ejlt.org/index.php/ejlt