The criminal hearing in the metaverse

This article examines the emerging use of metaverse technologies in criminal law hearings and its implications for criminal procedure. Focusing on genuinely immersive, shared virtual environments-rather than video-conferenced or screen-based remote hearings-it offers a status quo overview of current practices, pilot projects, and interdisciplinary debates. The article maps commonly cited advantages and risks of immersive proceedings, including claims relating to efficiency, accessibility, evidence presentation, and training, while also identifying concerns regarding technological reliability, legitimacy, authenticity of evidence, cybersecurity, and procedural fairness. Rather than treating metaverse hearings as a straightforward technological upgrade, the article argues that immersive environments reconfigure core assumptions of criminal procedure, particularly those relating to presence, credibility, embodiment, and the human character of the trial. These transformations cannot be adequately assessed through analogies with video hearings alone. The analysis therefore explores whether immersive technologies can sustain the conditions under which criminal trials are experienced as legitimate, meaningful events. The article adopts an exploratory and critical approach, raising questions-rather than offering definitive answers-about the adequacy of existing legal frameworks and the role of procedural justice in evaluating the future of immersive criminal hearings.