Georgia's Blockchain-powered Property Registration

Abstract

In the period of 2006-2011 Georgia enjoyed the status of "world's top reformer" and World Bank recognised that one of the key success factors that made Georgian governments efforts so powerful, is Harnessing Technology [1]. Although eGoventment was not, per se, high political goal and strategic direction for Georgian reformers, but it quickly became the integral part and key enabler of whole public administration reform process. This paper analysis one of the modern and notable example of Georgian innovative and secure eGovernment solution -- property ownership guaranteed by blockchain technology [2]. The analysis highlight prerequisites for implementing such a solution, its main features, system description and core enabled results of blockchain-managed property registration system. The paper makes a generic conclusion that blockchain-based ownership registry is a key driver for both developing and developed information societies (e.g.: Brazil, Sweden) [3] in order to ensure transparency and reliability of government-owned registration systems and increase trust in them, as well as enhance enforcement of rule of law, protection of basic proprietary human rights, reduce costs and increase efficiency and effectiveness of registration process. The aim of this paper is two-fold: to identify the Georgian country-specific solution for legal validity and presumption of proof of property ownership and to add the Georgian experience for a future cross-country comparative studies.