IBM Gets Blockchain into French Courts

The French National Council of Clerks (NCC) will deploy a blockchain network by IBM to manage commercial and corporate registry, according to the official press release, March 14.

The blockchain network will be used from 2019 by clerks in commercial courts and is expected to improve legal transactions related to the lifecycle of companies, by providing added transparency and efficiency.

As maintaining commercial and corporate registries with important legal and economic data of businesses, any updates can impact on various regions with the need to coordinate multiple local registries. Blockchain then sounds like the optimal tool for managing such complex information. Not to mention, sensitive data too, as blockchain will provide trust that might be threatened due to the close connection of clerks. Streamlining processes and the exchange of information among clerks will arguably improve services to companies.

The blockchain network will facilitate “the sharing of a single version of truth across the courts clerks” and ensure “traceability of notifications related to the legal changes. It ensures transparency and can improve the dynamic of court clerks’ interactions,” the press release reported.

Hyperledger Fabric by the Linux Foundation

The blockchain platform is built on the Hyperledger Fabric, a blockchain framework implementation hosted by the Linux Foundation. According to Hyperledger’s website: “Intended as a foundation for developing applications or solutions with a modular architecture, Hyperledger Fabric allows components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play. Hyperledger Fabric leverages container technology to host smart contracts called ‘chaincode’ that comprise the application logic of the system. Hyperledger Fabric was initially contributed by Digital Asset and IBM, as a result of the first hackathon.”

The blockchain will be used to record and share information regarding to “exchanges of regulatory information related to companies’ difficulties” and “changes of status of the company registered on the French territory (change of court office in which a company is registered; change of corporate names; the addition of a new branch office; or even dissolution of the business, etc…).”

Innovation

Sophie Jonval, President of the National Clerks Council underlined the importance for innovation which complements the quality of public service provided by the commercial justice system. She said: “This project, which is the result of an autonomous initiative between clerks of commercial courts and IBM, is the continuation of our efforts to be pioneers in the adoption of innovative technologies, to strengthen the quality of the public service provided by the commercial justice system, dedicated to the expectations and requirements of today’s multipolar and interconnected economic world.”

Blockchain represents a major transformational tool in modernizing commercial Justice and will also affect these professions as they are shaped by the technology. Vincent Fournier, Senior Manager Blockchain at IBM France, explained: “This initiative is a first in the Justice sector in France and is a perfect example of blockchain’s role in helping regulated professions as they transform. Blockchain’s qualities are ideal for this use, improving the Clerks’ business processes and adapting to the ever-changing nature of their missions.”

With the first tests already being done successfully, full scale production will begin in the first half of 2019.