Colombian Court Holds Hearing in the Metaverse

Colombian courts held one of the first judicial hearings using metaverse tech. María Victoria Quiñones Triana, the magistrate of the Magdalena court, approved the realization of this hearing, using Horizon Worlds technology provided by Meta and virtual avatars to represent participants in the process.

A Colombian court has ostensibly made history by holding one of the first judicial processes of the country in the metaverse. The hearing, held on Feb. 15 and promoted by María Victoria Quiñones Triana, magistrate of the Magdalena court, used Horizon Worlds technology, provided by Meta, to simulate a unified virtual space. The court used various avatars to represent each one of the participants in the complaint.

Quiñones, who stated that verifying the true identity of the assistants was one of the key processes in the metaverse, used verification numbers sent to the emails registered in the name of each of the parties involved, as proof of identity. Regarding the significance of this technology for the judicial branch of the government, Quiñones stated:

The metaverse constitutes a technological tool that can facilitate access to the administration of justice. The use of information technology in the development of judicial proceedings has the essential purpose of facilitating and expediting these processes.

While the hearing was held without any trouble, the 2,500 citizens that watched the public audience via Youtube had different opinions regarding the usage of the metaverse in this kind of process. While the action was supported by most of the users, others stated that this kind of hearing did not present any advantages when compared to hearings using video. Another point cited against this kind of virtual process involves the inability of analyzing the psychological traits of the participants due to the involvement of metaverse avatars instead of real video.

One user asked for metaverse audiences to be used more often, due to the advantages they present when compared to ordinary hearings regarding the transportation of citizens that may live far from the courts.

Answering these comments, Quiñones declared:

We understand the constructive criticism that has been made regarding the deficiencies that we have or not in the Judicial Branch, but we are here with all the spirit of giving support so that this process can move forward.

Metaverse is also currently being used for making industrial processes more efficient, and for showcasing and selling cars, among other implementations.

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