Court Hierarchy

Understanding the hierarchical court structure and specialized domains

Court Hierarchy

Kleros courts are organized in a hierarchical tree structure, allowing disputes to be handled by jurors with appropriate expertise while maintaining a clear appeals path.

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Court Structure

                    ┌─────────────────┐
                    │  Forking Court  │  (ID: 0, Reserved)
                    │    (Future)     │
                    └────────┬────────┘
                             │
                    ┌────────▼────────┐
                    │  General Court  │  (ID: 1, Root)
                    │                 │
                    └────────┬────────┘
                             │
        ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐
        │                    │                    │
┌───────▼───────┐   ┌───────▼───────┐   ┌───────▼───────┐
│  Blockchain   │   │   Curation    │   │   English     │
│  Technical    │   │               │   │   Language    │
└───────┬───────┘   └───────────────┘   └───────────────┘
        │
┌───────▼───────┐
│  Solidity     │
│  (Sub-court)  │
└───────────────┘

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Court Types

General Court

The Root Court (ID: 1)

• Currently serves as the root of the court system
• Handles appeals from all specialized courts
• Has the broadest juror requirements
• Includes every juror in the system (due to automatic parent staking)

When you stake in any specialized court, you are automatically staked in all parent courts up to the General Court.

Specialized Courts

Domain-Specific Expertise

• Focus on specific domains (blockchain technical, English language, art curation, etc.)
• Require specific expertise from jurors
• Allow for more specialized resolution of complex disputes
• Have their own policy documents defining rules and requirements

Examples:

• Blockchain Technical: Smart contract disputes, technical implementations
• Curation: Token lists, address tags, registry disputes
• English Language: Translation quality, content disputes

Forking Court

Reserved for Future Use (ID: 0)

• Reserved for protocol-level disputes
• Will handle fundamental governance decisions
• Will serve as the ultimate escalation point
• Currently cannot be used

Court ID 0 is reserved and cannot be used for regular disputes.

Automated Curation

AI-Optimized Resolution

• New court type designed for AI agents
• Optimized dispute resolution parameters
• Suitable for high-volume, lower-stakes curation tasks

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Court Parameters

Each court has specific parameters that define how it operates:

Parameter	Description	Example
Minimum Stake	Minimum PNK required to participate	2,300 PNK
Alpha	Controls how much PNK is locked per vote (basis points)	10000 (100%)
Fee For Juror	Payment per juror per case	0.05 ETH
Jurors For Court Jump	Threshold that triggers escalation to parent court	511 jurors
Hidden Votes	Whether commit-reveal voting is used	true/false
Time Per Period	Duration of each dispute phase	Varies

Understanding Alpha

The alpha parameter determines how much of your stake is locked when drawn as a juror:

pnkAtStakePerJuror = (minStake × alpha) / 10000

Alpha Example

With minStake = 2,300 PNK and alpha = 10000 (100%)

Your locked amount per vote = 2,300 PNK

If alpha were 5000 (50%), your locked amount would be 1,150 PNK per vote.

Time Periods

Each dispute progresses through four key periods:

1. Evidence Period: Time for parties to submit evidence
2. Commit Period: Time for jurors to commit votes (if hidden votes = true)
3. Vote Period: Time for voting or revealing votes
4. Appeal Period: Time to fund appeals

Periods can now end early when no more interactions are needed, speeding up dispute resolution.

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Automatic Parent Staking

Critical Concept: When you stake in a specialized court, you are automatically staked in all parent courts up to the General Court.

What this means:

• Staking in the Blockchain court = also eligible for General Court cases
• Staking in the Solidity sub-court = eligible for Blockchain AND General Court cases
• The General Court includes every juror in the entire system

Why this matters:

• You may be drawn for cases in any parent court
• Ensures sufficient juror availability at each level
• Maintains a proper appeals path

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Court Policies

Each court has a policy document that defines:

Section	Description
Purpose	What types of disputes the court handles
Rules	Guidelines jurors must follow when evaluating evidence
Required Skills	Knowledge or expertise jurors should possess
Special Procedures	Any court-specific requirements

Critical for Jurors: Always read the court policy before staking or voting! Failing to follow court policies might result in incoherent votes and lost PNK.

Explore Court Policies

Visit Kleros Court, click on “Courts” and review the policy for any court that interests you.

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Multi-Court Staking

You can stake in multiple courts, but there are important considerations:

Court Limit

• Maximum of 4 courts per juror
• This is a technical limitation for gas efficiency
• Plan your court selection strategically

PNK Distribution

• Your total staked PNK is distributed across the court path
• The UI simplifies this by showing your stake for each court
• Parent courts automatically include your stake from child courts

Choosing Courts

Consider these factors when selecting courts:

1. Your Expertise: Match courts to your knowledge areas
2. Minimum Stake: Ensure you meet requirements
3. Activity Level: More active courts = more earning opportunities
4. Policy Alignment: Understand and agree with court rules

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Court Transparency Features

The V2 interface provides enhanced transparency:

• Top Jurors Staked: See who has the largest stakes in each court
• Latest Stakes: Monitor real-time staking activity
• Court Statistics: View dispute history and resolution rates

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What’s Next?

Appeals

Learn how cases escalate through the hierarchy

How It Works

Understand the full dispute resolution process

Staking Guide

Step-by-step guide to staking in courts