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- Path: sparky!uunet!caen!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!paul
- From: paul@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
- Newsgroups: sci.crypt
- Subject: ATM Writ - Proof and courts action
- Message-ID: <1992Aug21.102840.42479@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
- Date: 21 Aug 92 10:28:40 CDT
- Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services
- Lines: 41
-
- > Subj: RE: Automatic Teller Machine Writ
- >
- > I'd like to provoke discussion which would clarify the requirements for
- > such a facility.
- >
- > Clearly it would be some kind of court and would have to have some
- > technical competence too. What more would be needed?
-
- Ideas expressed in the "Scientific American" August article about such
- things are a registration authority that certifies that X is a person
- and that Y is a corporation. The registration authority would "sign"
- that certification for all to use.
-
- > The naive idea is that I want to get from it a declaration that `Bloogs
- > Mail Order Inc., Registered Office so-and-so, did on the xth day of y
- > sign message z to the plaintiff'.
-
- And message z, along with the message's authentication information,
- would be stored in plaintiff's tamper proof smart card. Plaintiff
- could release said message to court for proof.
-
- > If you go that far then why not add the ability to order `and is found
- > liable to pay the plaintiff the sum of w'.
-
- Since plaintiff's card is tamper proof and can either present or not
- present message z therein lies the "proof". Liability would be left in
- the court's jurisdiction.
-
- > Can one go that far without getting involved in the whole morass of
- > procedural complexity, cost, and the other negative factors of a court
- > as opposed to an arbitration?
- >
- > Should we try and redesign courts for contract litigation in the electronic
- > age? Or is it better to rely on arbitration agreements? In the latter case
- > how do you stop powerful players (such as industry groups) setting up
- > arbitration processes which are against the customer's interest (such as
- > the UK banking ombudsman scheme)?
- >
- > Questions to the net, please, and let's get this going ...
- >
- > Ross
-