"Metaverse" Moot Court Hears "Metaverse" Dispute Cases
Judge: Do a rehearsal for possible future situations
In the "Metaverse" world, the male character sexually harassed the female character, how would such a case be tried?
On the afternoon of November 18th, a "Metaverse" moot court co-sponsored by well-known domestic law schools and courts was launched online.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily saw through the live broadcast of the court trial that the "Yuan Universe" court was set up the same as the real court. The judges sitting on the judge's bench included the dean of Tongji University Law School and other professional legal professionals. Both parties in the trial made statements , evidence, debate and other links, expressed their views.
Judge Guo Bing, who participated in the mock trial, said that although the case was fictitious, there have been cases in foreign countries where virtual characters in the "Metaverse" played by netizens have been accused of sexual assault. "In a sense, this simulation The trial is a rehearsal for what might happen in the future."
mock trial
Sexually harassed female character in 'Metaverse' game files civil tort lawsuit
In a "Metaverse" game, the female character Yun Xiaoruo filed a civil infringement lawsuit against the male character Zhang San after being sexually harassed by the male character Zhang San.
The two sides started a fierce debate in the same court in the "Metaverse".
Five "Metaverse" judges questioned both the plaintiff and the defendant to understand the facts of the case, and dozens of "Metaverse" characters attended the trial from the auditorium.
This is the scene of the "Metaverse" moot court co-sponsored by Tongji University Law School, Huashan District People's Court of Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province and other institutions on the afternoon of November 18.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily saw in the live broadcast of the trial that the appearance of the court where the "Yuan Universe" trial was held was the same as that of an ordinary court, with judges' seats, clerk's seats, original defendant's seats, and auditorium seats all available.
The trial mode also adopts the current standard procedure for civil case trials, with the presiding judge leading the presentations and debates of both parties.
The auditorium was almost filled with characters from the "Metaverse".
In court, the plaintiff and the defendant presented evidence and debated with each other on whether the touching and sexually suggestive words in the "Metaverse" had the same nature as the sexual harassment in the real world, and whether players could enable "safe mode" in the game.
In the end, the case was not pronounced in court.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily learned that although the case itself is a fiction, the five judges participating in the trial, including well-known legal experts and judges of the Huashan District Court in Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, are all professional legal professionals.
According to the information released by Tongji University School of Law, this trial is the world's first mock trial of a "Metaverse" dispute case held in the "Metaverse".
Guo Bing, a judge who participated in the mock trial and a specially-appointed associate professor at the School of Law and Politics of Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, told Beiqing Daily that although the case of the mock trial was fictitious, some netizens in the "Metaverse" game have appeared abroad. Refers to the case of using virtual characters to sexually assault other characters. "In a sense, this mock trial is a preview of what may happen in the future."
Preview in advance
Similar cases have appeared in foreign countries, and the virtual trial process is carried out according to the actual situation
Guo Bing said that the "Metaverse" court was made by relevant technical institutions, referring to the layout and structure of the real court. When participants including Guo Bing enter the space, they can choose their own facial features and clothing, "for In this court trial, the technicians also specially developed the virtual character given to us by the judge's robe."
Guo Bing said that the trial procedure of the case was carried out completely in accordance with the actual situation. Although the original defendant was fictitious, the actors also provided evidence and collected relevant information on their respective situations, and debated in court.
However, Guo Bing said frankly that, compared with the alleged sexual assaults of virtual characters in the "Metaverse" that have appeared abroad, this case has still undergone a certain degree of "dimensionality reduction", setting it as a case of sexual harassment, and starting from a civil infringement case. point of view to discuss.
"More than a month before the trial, we released the notice of the trial, and soon the seats in the auditorium were fully booked, which shows that everyone is still very concerned about this mock trial." Guo Bing said that before the trial, he also I once asked the students: "Does the 'Metaverse' trial still need the sense of solemn ceremony of the real court?" The vast majority of the answers agreed to retain the sense of solemn ceremony of the real court.
However, some time after the start of the mock trial on the afternoon of November 18, there were still some "spectators" in the auditorium walking around the aisle of the auditorium.
In this regard, Guo Bing said frankly that compared with the real world, the "Metaverse" court does not yet have bailiffs who can maintain order.
The live video shows that the movement of the "audience" in the auditorium disappeared after repeated reminders from the judges.
Technical Support
"Metaverse" technology has been applied in judicial and administrative practice
A reporter from the Beiqing Daily noticed that, in fact, relevant institutions have used the "Metaverse" technology to carry out judicial and administrative practices.
The Siming District Court in Xiamen, Fujian Province issued a document on September 23 this year stating that the court held a "metaverse" trial on that day.
According to local media reports, the judge of this second trial presided over the trial of two traffic accident insurance subrogation cases in the "Yuan Universe" and pronounced the verdict in court.
The plaintiffs in both cases were the same insurance company, and both defendants were absent from the trial.
The 2021 graduate students of the Xiamen University School of Law participated online and entered the three-dimensional virtual court space through the "Metaverse", "watched" the entire trial session, and discussed the legal issues of this case after the trial session, as well as the "Metaverse" The trial mode interacts with trial judges and plaintiff lawyers.
The Guangzhou Arbitration Commission of Guangdong Province also issued a document on November 10 this year stating that it had adjudicated a property dispute case that occurred in the "Metaverse", becoming the first arbitration case in the virtual world.
According to reports, the case was heard in the online trial scene of the "Yuan Universe" Arbitration Court. The arbitrators and both parties displayed electronic evidence and confronted each other in a special virtual court room.
It took only five days from the acceptance of the case to the conclusion of the mediation case.
(Beijing Youth Daily/Reporter Qu Chang intern Sun Jiayi)