“Guns, Germs, and Steel” is the title of a book published in 1997 by Jared Diamond, an American writer, geographer, and biologist.

This work, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize, had an ambitious objective: to discover —among other historical milestones— the evolutionary causes of humanity that eventually led to the global dominance of European and Asian civilizations over other parts of the world, such as the American and African continents.

Diamond, with a remarkable summary of 13,000 years of human history, identifies the factors that —in his view— were fundamental to the progress of various regions of Europe and Asia compared to the rest of the world, ultimately shaping the current development of different human civilizations.

Among the key factors, the author refers to the very elements highlighted in the title of his research: technology, diseases, and biogeographical factors were decisive in laying the foundations of world powers.

These same foundations later served as the basis for the Industrial Revolution and —as a result— the enormous gap between the developed world and the developing world.

The researcher, of course, received criticism from other scientists and theorists who attempted to explain these outcomes through different causes.

Now, regardless of whether Diamond was correct in his research and conclusions, the truth is that there is a determining factor that —especially today— cannot be overlooked in the progress of the modern world and developed economies:

A Revolutionary Technology

Today, the near synonym for modern technology can be summarized in a single word: internet.

The development of what we now know as the “internet,” around 1969, originated from a project by the U.S. Department of Defense known as ARPANET, which aimed to facilitate communication for military purposes.

This network marked a turning point in the way information is transmitted. It allowed us to share, through a computer, virtually any type of information with any part of the world, and it laid the groundwork for revolutionary technologies such as servers, websites, emails, search engines, among others; all of which are widely used across industries, including, of course, the legal industry.

In this context, the questions that follow for the legal field are the following:

How can we use this technology to make the legal profession more agile?

If we can transmit messages through “email,” what prevents us from transmitting legal documents through electronic means as well? In essence, legal documents are nothing more than information contained in an instrument recognized by law, with the proper form and the legal effects established by regulation.

With a simplified analysis, we find that the obstacles to the legality of “electronic documents” are essentially consent (signature) and the ease with which they can be altered. Naturally, this undermines the “legality” of such instruments and therefore their legitimacy and functionality in relation to the legal effects contemplated by law.

Consider, for example, a promissory note (a negotiable instrument) that could be duplicated, triplicated, and replicated infinitely at very low cost (digital editing on a computer).

This situation would bring with it countless legal problems. But above all, it would create legal uncertainty — something every legal framework seeks to avoid.

If the problem with electronic documents, in order to prevent legal uncertainty, is proving consent and preventing alteration, then… how can we create an electronic document that can be signed and cannot be altered?

After many years, and as could be expected, the answer to this technological challenge came accompanied by more technology.

On the one hand, consent (signature) was solved through the technology and model of “certifiers,” with a security mechanism verifying the identity of the person signing the electronic document through a certification service provider.

On the other hand, preventing alteration of the document was addressed through the same foundational technology used in cryptocurrency transactions: blockchain. This platform, composed of interconnected “blocks” of information, prevents the information contained in an electronic document from being altered without leaving a trace (or evidence) of such modification.

The good news —and the novelty— is that since 2021, our legal system has regulated (along with other legal aspects of electronic information) the legality of these technological elements, making them a reality and enabling their implementation in everyday practice.

Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (the regulatory authority) has issued a resolution to specify the conditions under which “electronic transferable records” may be issued and transferred within the market.

Under these circumstances… could anyone doubt the potential of instruments such as promissory notes, CDAs, bonds, shares, among others, that can be issued and transferred electronically under conditions of legal certainty?

Without a doubt, this documentary and technological innovation has the capacity to revolutionize the market and the economy of our country — just as agriculture did some 12,000 years ago, the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, and the implementation of the internet a few decades ago.
 
Welcome to the revolution of electronic documents (Transferable and Traceable).