The use of Metaverse is increasing in the technology world. It has already started to be used as a means of entertainment and training in developed countries. But the Latin American country Colombia has set a different precedent.
A court in the country held their first hearing on Metaverse this month.
Participants appeared as avatars in a virtual courtroom during a two-hour hearing at the Administrative Court of Magdalena, Colombia, on a traffic dispute. Even Magistrate Maria Quinos Triana’s avatar had the judges’ black robes on.
Colombia has emerged as the first country in the world to test real court hearings in the Metaverse and virtual reality by presenting participants with various avatars that bring the digital space to life.
The country’s authorities have said that they will examine the use of virtual reality in the courts in the future.
Meanwhile, Judge Quinos told Reuters on Friday that the Metaverse experience felt more real than a video call, describing it as “amazing”.
Quinos said the lawsuit brought by a regional transportation union against the nation’s law enforcement agencies will now proceed in part to Metaverse. This may include judgment. At the same time, he did not completely rule out the possibility of metaverse-based hearings in other places.
But Quinos admitted the experiment was not popular, noting that 70 percent of viewers disagreed with the virtual tribunal despite reiterating its constitutional validity.
Cost and accessibility need to be discussed, he said. However, he advocated for Metaverse in various harassment cases, for example.
Similarly, Juan David Gutierrez, professor of public policy at the University of Rosario in Colombia, commented that there is still a long way to go in implementing the use of Metaverse in legal proceedings. He said, many a times we ourselves create a false impression that various tasks can be done in a relatively efficient way through technology. However, in some cases it is quite the opposite.
Earlier, the use of Zoom and Google in legal proceedings increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, school, college and university classes, office work also went to video conference. Even as the situation normalizes in the post-pandemic period, many organizations continue to allow their ‘home office’ operations. Meanwhile, on February 15, the Colombian court streamed the hearing on YouTube. However, it does turn off, even though it doesn’t seem to have much of a problem apart from a few ‘wobbling’ camera movements and distorted movements.
So this time Metaverse is going to occupy that place without these errors. Its use in sensitive areas like courts has given the matter a firmer foundation. Although, many are not satisfied with its avatars.
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