10 minute read. Rather listen than read?
Foreword: The article below combines the powerful characteristics of Nostr with current problems in judicial systems globally. Thorough understanding requires some insight into information technology, social media, distributed systems, law and litigation. Although few readers may have this unique combination of insight, this article is written for multiple readings over several sessions. This allows readers to gradually understand the concepts described and overall method proposed. Do not give up, just take time to let it sink in. And most important, go online and play with Nostr.
Global populations suffer from ineffective judicial systems since 2020. Traditional judicial systems broke decades ago, but now it’s undeniable and visible for all. The curtain has fallen. Abusers, fraudsters and deceivers who are apparently important for a bigger agenda roam free, while activists demanding justice get attacks, raids and framing, even if they are a judge themselves like German Christian Dettmar who saw his house raided by heavily armed police and sentenced to two years probation for ‘bending the law’. His crime was writing a thoroughly motivated verdict against mask mandates in a school. The message resonated globally: honest lawyers and judges, behave, or else. This turned the sector silent and unwilling to take on governments or multinational corporations.
Enter Nostr, a censorship resistant distributed social media system which enables public tribunals with optional anonymity for plaintiff, defendant, supporters and jury members. In addition, judges return to their role as process facilitators instead of final deciders sitting on a bench ‘above’ the public.
Enabling client: Habla.news
Contrary to traditional social media models with one centralised website and or phone app covering all functionality, the distributed Nostr model promotes unlimited (web)apps catering to specific user needs. The long list of apps and websites, called Clients in Nostr, includes Iris.to, Yakihonne.com, Amethyst, Coracle, Highlighter, noStrudel, Habla.news and many others. This enables users to grow into a collection of clients that cover their requirements, while almost always having the underlying data available in every client with some clients specialising in certain applications.
Habla.news enables longer articles and community management, giving a foundation for justice served by the general public, also called a tribunal in Nostr. Victims of unlawful behaviour, also called plaintiffs, write their initial complaint as an article like this one. They may also record a video telling their story. To increase uniformity and quality control, Habla.news or other clients could later offer templates with helpful fields.
Nostr users, becoming aware of plaintiff’s article through their preferred client, respond with tips or indicate willingness to be jury members, facilitators or coaches etc. This enables plaintiff to immediately find domain experts or emotional support from users with similar experience.
After successful assertion of the viability of a tribunal by initial supporters, the plaintiff or a SATisfied proxy (SATS are the currency units in Nostr, see note (1) below) then informs defendant to come online for the procedure via e-mail, a registered letter or bailiff delivery. The invitation may include a video how Nostr and habla.news work, a printout of the initial complaint, an outline of the tribunal schedule including deadlines and consequences when deadlines are ignored. After defendant becomes a Nostr user, the whole process then moves to a Nostr community.
Shouting in court
Nostr communities are similar to user groups on traditional social media platforms. They are a container for the process and enable or restrict outside viewing or responses thus allowing transparency if deemed beneficial by those involved. Habla.news communities automatically solve the problem of 3rd party shouting in court which could undermine public tribunals.
During the whole process, all participants can choose to remain anonymous, or not. After a final verdict, plaintiff can choose to identify defendant if he/she refuses to comply with the verdict and give viewing access to an earlier private community. Nostr gives endless possibilities.
Nostr users also grow in legal knowledge which is quite straightforward and should have been taught in high school, but is currently clouded in endless lobby-driven government regulation that nobody oversees or understands, not even legal experts, lawyers and judges. Simultaneously, people summoned to traditional courts are expected to ‘know the law’, including thousands of codes and regulations.
The verdict and social credit
Having a public Nostr verdict increases plaintiff’s closure and provides a moral basis for plaintiff to seek damages. A former or current law enforcer, or any member of the public, may actually help plaintiff with enforcement and increase the pressure on non complying defendant.
Eventually, Sats-motivated enforcement mechanisms will be implemented by the growing number of Nostr developers, paving the way for a real social credit mechanism that benefits society instead of a small clique. In any case, defendant’s online life becomes increasingly uncomfortable, having been warned upfront of the permanent nature of Nostr verdicts. Imagine a defendant’s surprise when a Lightning payment is refused because of earlier open verdicts awaiting compliance. In other words, imagine being refused a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account because of proven earlier misdeeds. Similarly, plaintiffs abusing the system only lower their future access.
David today, Goliath tomorrow
While this litigation method is currently (2024) unsuitable against big corporations or governments, Nostr innovation will eventually tip the scale and provide a more robust rating mechanism via verdict statistics. This provides a vision of an effective mechanism against abuse by corporate employees, politicians and government workers. More on this below in section ‘Bye bye divide-and-conquer’.
For now, government and corporate employees “Just doing their job” can be prosecuted if they provably and knowingly damage others. They are ordinary Davids, hiding behind their Goliath and aware of their unlawful behaviour.
The past catching up 
Serial offenders, currently hiding behind expensive judicial systems, will eventually have their past catch up. Ironically this could happen when they plan to enjoy their illicit gains and need Nostr access. A former victim recognising them could revamp an old verdict, suddenly becoming enforceable through future Nostr services that did not exist when the verdict was passed.
In addition, imagine the potential for class actions accumulating over many years. Victims who prove their damages could easily be added to earlier similar verdicts. This field could ignite a gold rush for solution builders aided by a growing Nostr network effect that increasingly isolates sentenced defendants. Again, an example of social credit scoring used sensibly.
Bye bye divide-and-conquer
Numerous authors will probably list the unlimited benefits of this litigation mechanism in future books. This article will finish with the most important benefit to society, the end of divide-and-conquer. Currently, victims of wrongdoing record videos, write their stories online in articles and books and talk to journalists only to see everything vanish into oblivion without meaningful follow-up. Burned up, they fold, opting to restart normal life.
The next victim decides to accept their fate after witnessing earlier victims who might have struggled and fought many years. This divide and conquer mechanism is utterly crucial to our current socio-economic model where lawyers, judges, government and corporate employees already know the outcome while a fresh inexperienced but energetic victim charges ahead looking for justice. These victims are usually a tiny percentage of total because most people live in fear.
This method of slowly draining the energetic and brave victim will end with the cumulative benefits that Nostr litigation offers. Each victim validates and adds to efforts from earlier victims, with their results safely stored on a distributed and censorship resistent mechanism, making it increasingly difficult for offenders to continue business as usual, no matter their stature or size. This will remove fear within the general public, leaving the remainder to become history.
Notes above:
- For those new to Nostr: SATS are the currency within the Lightning network which is integrated in Nostr clients. Traditional banks use the SWIFT network which is only accessible to those with a banking license, Nostr uses Lightning which is accessible to everybody globally. Running a Lightning node is similar to running your own bank. Bank accounts are called wallets in Lightning. This model provides capabilities for social credits because nodes can implement social policies in the future (like verdict compliance), similar to banks implementing current policy like refusing big cash withdrawals, thereby abusing their power.
The image below describes the whole process. Open in new tab and zoom in for reading. https://image.nostr.build/35916bd0998c6b06c4d78a52fc28b92b2f86f0c7ae6f1a6062d62f546fd69176.jpg Any feedback, pointers etc welcome from Nostr experts: @Rabble, @Will, @Karnage, @Gigi, @PABLOF7, @Martti.malmi and others I missed etc
