Chair for Public Law & Blockchain

What happens to public law when decentralised technologies disrupt traditional structures of regulation and governance? The Chair for Public Law & Blockchain at ZIBR investigates how blockchain challenges state authority, regulatory frameworks, and the role of public institutions. This research explores both the risks and opportunities blockchain creates for regulation, accountability, and public administration — from data protection and cross-border enforcement to new applications in registries and elections.

Regulation and Decentralisation

Decentralisation raises fundamental questions for public law: who can and should be regulated in blockchain ecosystems? The chair examines how pseudonymity, controlled access to blockchains, and cross-border transactions complicate state oversight and raise concerns about anti-competitive behaviour.

Blockchain, Rights, and Accountability

Immutable blockchain records collide with fundamental rights such as data protection and the ‘right to be forgotten.’ The chair investigates how legal systems can reconcile these tensions and what principles are needed to ensure accountability in decentralised infrastructures.

Opportunities for Public Administration

Beyond challenges, blockchain offers potential for public institutions: land registers, commercial registers, and even elections have been proposed for blockchain implementation. The chair critically evaluates such applications, weighing promises of transparency and efficiency against risks to governance and legitimacy.

Ass.-Prof. Dr. Markus Schreiber

Assistant Professor of Public Law and Blockchain

Get to know the Chair

The Chair for Public Law & Blockchain advances discourse on the role of law in a digital age. Through research, teaching, and public engagement, it examines both the obstacles and opportunities blockchain creates for public institutions and legal frameworks.

Chair for Public Law & Blockchain

This chair explores how public law must evolve when regulatory power and public administration are increasingly mediated — and disrupted — by blockchain technology.