Jamilya Kamalova, PhD Researcher at Kleros

Jamilya is a lawyer currently working as a researcher at Kleros and doing her PhD on legal theory and decentralized dispute resolution systems...

We are starting to publish a series of articles for you to know some of the members of the Kleros team. We will start today with our PhD researcher Jamilya Kamalova.

Tell us a bit about you.

I'm originally from Tatarstan. Most of my family members are lawyers and maybe that's why, as a kid, I developed quite strong opinions about fairness and justice. I also used to read lots of detective books like Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle.

I guess this is why I decided to study law in the university. I did my bachelor's in Russia and then did my Masters in the United Kingdom. Since the early days, I was interested in legal innovation and the impact of technology.

So, in 2016 I've became interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies and did my bachelor's thesis on how to legally do ICOs in Russia. Back then, there were many different proposals for regulation of blockchain. This was something new and now many legislators know how to deal with it.

I was involved with the people from the task force in charge of drafting this legislation. I kept researching and did my Master's thesis on how English courts see blockchain technology and to which extent they consider crypto as a legitimate way to conducting transactions.

This is also the topic I'm researching for my PhD.

What are you researching for your PhD?

I'm focusing on the overall governance and legal issues of decentralized dispute resolution systems. I'm looking at Kleros and other protocols and trying to see what are the unresolved issues yet.

This also involves presenting in different conferences and collaborating in the organization and logistics for the Kleros Fellowship of Justice. This is something I enjoy a lot because I meet so many candidates from many different backgrounds. I learn a lot on how different people perceive Kleros.

I also monitor a lot of regulatory changes. I find it fascinating to how sometimes very unflexible regulatory rules meet with innovation and technology, for example, in blockchain arbitration.

Jamilya presenting on "Regulating Smart contracts and oracles: What is the way forward?" at the Blockchain Oracle Summit. Berlin, June 2022.

What do you like to do after work?

I find inspiration in literature, music and film. I like the intersection of old and new: I enjoy digital art exhibitions as well as visiting museums, going to the opera and the ballet. Bookshops and libraries are the hidden gems of any historic cities, and always worth a visit in my opinion.

Jamilya at the PhD Summer School at the University of Valencia. Spain, June 2022.

How do you imagine the future of Kleros?

In my presentations, I always say that we need more protocols like Kleros in order to create an ecosystem. We need to make a movement of blockchain arbitration systems.

I decided to join because it's the protocol doing this pioneering work. In the early days of blockchain, there were other protocols like this. But Kleros was the only one that managed to become sustainable and grow.

I imagine a future where Kleros becomes a normalized dispute resolution method for a specific type of cases. I think we are on our way. We already had a precedent with the case in Mexico where the court ratified the choice of Kleros as a dispute resolution tool.

This is just the beginning and it's exciting to see many people coming to our Fellowship with ideas to research very different types of cases. I think we have a long way to go but are on the right track and look forward to working on making Kleros grow!

Jamilya at the Lake Baikal. Russia.

Watch some of Jamilya's talks!

The talk presents an idea of how smart contracts may help in dispute settlement, what are the alternatives to the traditional means of dispute resolution and limitations of "blockchain" justice.

The talk raises questions of diversity , equal opportunity & accessibility in the blockchain space highlighting some of the female-lead initiatives providing examples and ideas on how we can try to create a more inclusive space by not repeating web2 mistakes.

The talk gives introduction to the blockchain dispute resolution, covers the issues in relation to the regulatory challenges and lack of clear legal framework that regulates blockchain-based courts as well as some of the examples of theoretical approaches of creating a decentralised legal system.