# kaal:claim:3227933-021

**Claim.** In a truly decentralized system where code is law, any mistake such as a stolen or lost password or a programming bug is permanent and irrevocable, because there is no authority able to reverse it.

**Type.** failure  **Support.** argued

**Holds when.**

- truly decentralized systems where code is law

**Source quote.**

> Remember that in a truly decentralized system, the code is law. This means that any mistakes (stolen/lost passwords, programming bugs, etc.) are permanent and irrevocable.

**From.** Mark Fenwick, Wulf A. Kaal, Erik P.M. Vermeulen, *Why 'Blockchain' Will Disrupt Corporate Organizations* (2018), 5. All Just Hype?, page 13

**Cite as.** Mark Fenwick, Wulf A. Kaal, Erik P.M. Vermeulen, Why 'Blockchain' Will Disrupt Corporate Organizations (2018). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3227933

**Verify.** sha256 of source PDF `a9e9660c4dc25a2202f1da4e762f5885256e05f68c53ca51942f5833a7a4c108` at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wulfkaal/Academic-Papers/main/papers/pdf/Fenwick%20et%20al.%20-%202018%20-%20Why%20%27Blockchain%27%20Will%20Disrupt%20Corporate%20Organizations.pdf

**Failure mode.** Irrevocability of error under code-is-law  (family: custody-and-key-loss)

**Topics.** smart-contracts, decentralization

**Keywords.** code-is-law, irreversibility, decentralization, error-recovery

**Related claims.**

- restated_by: https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3227967-034

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of the claim. Its sha256 is the content hash used for attestation.