A Colombian court this month hosted the metaverse’s first legal trial and now hopes to experiment again with virtual reality, authorities told Reuters.
During a two-hour hearing before the executive court of Magdalena in Colombia, participants in a traffic dispute appeared as avatars in a virtual courtroom. An avatar of Judge Maria Quinones Triana wearing black law robes.
The country is considered one of the primary on the planet to check real trials within the metaverse, immersive virtual reality to make digital spaces look more realistic, often with avatars representing each participant.
“It felt more real than a video call,” Quiones told Reuters on Friday, describing the metaverse as “amazing.” On Zoom, she noted: “Loads of people turn their cameras off, you’ve gotten no idea what they’re doing”
The case – brought by the regional transport union against the police – will now play partly within the metaverse, potentially involving a verdict, Quiones said. She hasn’t ruled out Metaverse auditions elsewhere.
“This is an instructional experiment to point out that it is feasible … but where everyone agrees, (my court) can still do things within the Metaverse,” she added.
While lawsuits have increasingly shifted to video meetings hosted by Zoom and Google, few have experimented with the Metaverse, an area that Meta (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and other tech giants are racing to construct.
Early examples of metaverse interviews and encounters were ridiculed for his or her often clunky, cartoonish visuals.
Nevertheless, the court proceedings in Colombia on February 15 – streamed on YouTube – went without major glitches aside from some giddy camera movements and a few distorted movements.
Quiones reiterated the constitutional legitimacy of the virtual tribunal but admitted that the experiment was not popular, citing a 70% disapproval amongst viewers.
Juan David Gutierrez, a professor of public policy at Colombia’s Rosario University, said using the Metaverse in legal proceedings has a protracted approach to go.
“For that, you wish equipment that only a few people have. And that raises questions on access to justice and equality,” he told Reuters.
Quiones agreed that costs and availability needs to be discussed. But she advocated the Metaverse for abuse cases, for instance, where participants can share an area without having to physically see one another.
Gutierrez said judges in Colombia are on the lookout for ways to ease the country’s overburdened justice system.
“We create the illusion that technology will make things more efficient, but sometimes it’s the opposite way around.”
