Legally Speaking: Smart Contracts, Archival Bonds, and Linked Data in the Blockchain

Abstract

As currently understood and used, "smart contracts" are merely a means to execute the terms of a full legal contract. This paper, however, proposes the creation of a semantic legal layer to support blockchain based legal contracts. Some of the primary challenges to such an implementation, including the need to develop robust, jurisdiction- specific legal ontologies, and develop means to preserve the evidentiary character of records leading up and proving contract formation, are considered. Particular attention is given to the particular challenges posed - and purposes behind - the use of legal language in contract drafting, with consideration of ways to utilize distributed ledger and linked data technology to leverage that specialist language for a broader base of contracting parties.