The emergence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, the development of information technologies and international electronic commerce have led to the formation of a new type of civil law contracts, namely smart contracts. The use of mathematical algorithms in the implementation of smart contracts contributes to reducing the costs of organizing business relations, speeding up the implementation of agreements between business partners and increasing the level of security in the process of their cooperation. Investigating the issue of conclusion and implementation of smart contracts, its key elements are given, namely: the parties to the contract, who, on the basis of an electronic digital signature, agree or reject previous agreements; the subject of the contract and the availability of tools necessary for its implementation; an algorithm that accurately describes the conditions for executing a smart contract; a decentralized platform in which the algorithm of the smart contract itself is written, the algorithm in which the specific conditions for the execution of the smart contract are described. The article highlights the program-coordinating, protective, guarantee and security functions of smart contracts. The comparative characteristics of a smart contract with a civil law contract are given. The main advantages and disadvantages of the formation and implementation of smart contracts in Ukraine are grouped. The conclusion of smart contracts in Ukraine entails certain risks associated with the legal regulation of such contracts, in particular when determining their legal status. A technology for the development and signing of a smart contract as an innovative tool for contractual relations has been formed, which provides for the implementation of the following stages: determining business conditions and requirements for a smart contract, choosing a blockchain platform, selecting tools for developing a smart contract, developing a smart contract and auditing smart contract, deploying and signing a smart contract. Smart contracts are successfully used in various fields, such as: international settlements, securities transactions, banking, real estate, international e-commerce, recruiting, insurance, marketing and logistics, public and administrative services, agricultural sector, energy, medicine, etc.
Introduction: the article is devoted to the analysis of legal regulation of smart contracts, the concept, content, and scope of their application. The author analyzes in detail foreign expe- rience of using smart contracts and suggests possible options for expanding the application area. The article also has a separate section that looks at smart contracts as compared with traditional institutions of civil law. Smart contracts are expected to find application in almost all areas of life in the future. As is often the case with new technologies, the use of smart con- tracts raises a number of civil law issues. Blockchain technology makes it possible not only to create new means of payment but also to autonomously manage almost any process. It can be used for individual contracts and even for the creation of autonomous decentralized systems. Purpose: to provide an insight into the institution of smart contracts and define their role in civ- il law. Methods: empirical methods of comparison, description, interpretation; theoretical me- thods of formal and dialectical logic; special scientific methods such as the legal-dogmatic me- thod, the methods of interpretation of legal norms and comparative legal research. Results: smart contracts are computer programs that perform legally significant actions according to predetermined algorithms set out in the form of a so-called program code. In practice, they are especially important in connection with the development of blockchain technology or (more generally) distributed ledger technology. Conclusions: the term ‘smart contract’ was defined by Nick Szabo in the 1990s as a sequence of commands represented in digital form, including transaction protocols that execute these agreements. Thus, smart contracts formulate rules and sanctions for agreements and execute them automatically. These are not necessarily contracts in the legal sense, but they are capable of controlling, tracking, and documenting legally signif- icant actions. Smart contracts can also be implemented using traditional, for example, mechan- ical technologies (e.g. in a vending machine). However, blockchain and distributed ledger tech- nologies make it possible to implement incomparably more complex rules and enforcement me- chanisms and offer a decentralized environment with an integrated settlement system. From a legal point of view, smart contracts perform two functions. On the one hand, they serve as a functional equivalent of a contract since their technological code can identify the services to be exchanged as well as the conditions under which they must be provided. Being the normative order of the digital, this code formulates the program of obligations of the parties. It resembles the legal order of a contract, without necessarily coinciding with it. On the other hand, smart contracts serve as a tool for the execution of contracts – by controlling, monitoring, and docu- menting the exchange of services. They can also facilitate the execution of conventional con- tracts by translating their provisions into a technical code, verifying the occurrence of agreed- upon events, and enforcing contracts. Smart contracts are suitable for contractual relation- ships, for example, for processing payments or delivering goods without the participation of the parties and an intermediate step in the form of direct execution. Smart contracts are gaining more and more popularity, especially in the financial sector. In addition to the so-called token economy (cryptocurrencies, ICO, etc.), there are also discussed algorithmic ETFs, online plat- forms for loans or project financing. Another important area of application is sharing economy. From a legal point of view, smart contracts can either be the subject of a contractual agreement or generate it on their own. There is sometimes put forward a thesis under the motto ‘Code is law’ that smart contracts give rise to a largely autonomous legal system and/ or are not subject to applicable law. However, this appears to be an erroneous conclusion
Smart contracts offer a unique method of contracting that differs from the methods used for a long time in this regard; Because the agreement between the contracting parties appears in the form of a code that is run and executed by members of the Blockchain network or the nodes, without one of the parties being able to stop it; so that when a certain condition is met and the members of the network verify that, the related or the corresponding condition is executed automatically; therefore it's a contracting method that guarantees the process of contracts performance in the manner agreed upon, without the need to have a confidence in the other party or resort to a trusted body to verify the truth of that party or the object of contract; so we thought about studying the topic of the conclusion of those contracts in order to highlight their features and clarify the extent to which general rules accommodate the specificities of their formation; and we divided our research into an introductory section entitled "the fundamentals of block chain technology", and two main sections; the first entitled "the idea of smart contracts as a blockchain application", and the second entitled" specificity of smart contracts formation. Keywords: smart contracts, blockchain, DApps, Ethereum.
The article examines the concepts, legal nature of smart contracts, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of smart contracts as a basis for ownership. The technical and legal aspect of the concept of smart contract is considered. Models of using smart contracts are described. Approaches to determining the legal nature of smart contracts are presented. It is concluded that two models must be considered when using smart contracts. The first model is external, when the program code does not replace the agreement, but only automates its execution. The second model is internal, when the code completely or partially replaces the terms of the agreement. Among the advantages of smart contracts as grounds for the emergence of property rights can be identified, first of all, the inability to change the terms of the contract and interference in its work. However, at the same time, this feature is a disadvantage of the smart contract, as it does not allow to take into account the objective circumstances that may affect the implementation of the agreement. The problem of oracles when using smart contracts is also considered. It is noted that the use of oracles actually means the involvement of a third party in the transaction with all the risks that arise from it. The problem of involving notaries and state registrars in transactions on acquisition of property rights on the basis of a smart contract is analyzed. The problems of lack of legal regulation of smart contracts, in particular, related to its transnational nature, is investigated. The problem of protection of the rights of the parties to the smart contract is analyzed, in particular, related to technical errors and outside interference. Temporary solutions regarding the use of smart contracts and general recommendations on the legislative definition of smart contracts are proposed.
The article defines the theoretical and legal content of the category of "reasonable contracts", outlines the concepts and basic forms of implementation of contractual obligations without enforcement. Based on the modern global paradigm of legal development, smart contracts are defined as contracts that are technologically secured in such a way that allows the parties to guarantee bilateral performance of contractual obligations without recourse to enforcement means, including judicial protection of violated right. It is noted that such a definition requires inclusion in the current civil and economic legislation, taking into account the actual existence in public relations of such contracts in the form of vending machines and other technically possible practical forms and models, as well as taking into account the real possibility of reducing the hypothetical costs of the parties to the contract for judicial consideration of the case. It is determined that in the context of modern social processes, self-help is not a fundamentally new phenomenon, since people regularly act independently before referring to the official legal system. So, over the past few years, a group of innovators have begun to develop computer technologies that have led to the emergence of a fundamentally new area of legal regulation in contract law, such as so-called "reasonable contracts" or smart contracts. From a teleological point of view, their purpose is to allow the parties to such a contract to ensure that they have reached an agreement to increase the cost of any violation by an appropriate amount. Smart contracts are defined as agreements in which conditions are executed automatically, usually using computers. Such contracts are intended to ensure execution without going to court. Automation ensures productivity by eliminating the human factor from contract execution. One example of a smart contract is a vending machine. If the machine is working properly and money is inserted into the machine, this will automatically execute the purchase and sale agreement. It is noted that such a contract does not create any legal problems if the machine will issue soda or coffee, but legal issues arise if the machine can issue, for example, narcotic drugs. So, there is a problematic question of the legality and expediency of legislative prohibition of such automatic means due to the theoretical possibility of their use for illegal purposes, or, conversely, their legalization and normalization by the requirements of current civil legislation.
Abstract Various states have started providing private law frameworks for blockchain transfers and crypto assets. France and Liechtenstein have adopted the first acts, while a commission of the British government sees no difficulties in extending property protection under the common law to crypto assets. In the USA, an amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code has been suggested, which has not stopped some states going their own, different way. The aim in all cases is to promote the use of modern distributed ledger technology and enhance investor protection. While these initiatives will increase legal certainty, they differ significantly. This has an important downside: there is a strong risk that the blockchain will be made subject to diverging legal rules. Similar to the world of intermediated securities, various national laws will need to be consulted to determine the rights and privileges of investors. This may increase transaction costs, thwart interoperability, and produce thorny conflict-of-laws problems. Markets risk being fragmented into national segments, with an inevitable diminution of their depth and liquidity. As a remedy, this article suggests developing uniform rules for the blockchain. Before national legislators and judges once again divide the world through idiosyncratic rules, the private law of crypto assets should be harmonized to the highest degree possible. Uniform rules should ideally be forged at the global level, by fora like the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. In the absence of worldwide rules, uniformization of private law should take place at the regional level—for instance, by the European Union. The article makes specific suggestions as to how this can be achieved and what the content of those rules should be.
This paper is intended to serve as an introductory treatise on the subject of smart marriage contracts (SMC) as a manifestation of blockchain in matrimonial property law of contracts. It starts with a description of the origin and functioning of an SMC from a technical standpoint, while evaluating the legal nature thereof at the same time. Afterwards, we focus on the possibilities and means of an SMC’s establishment under German, Austrian, and Slovak law. Moving on, issues related to the content of a marriage contract establishing an SMC are examined. Then it is tested the permissibility of an SMC-related provision in a marriage contract referred to as a “registration clause”. Finally, it is delved into the question whether the appearance of an SMC in a marriage contract introduces any peculiarities to issues of private international law, namely from the perspective of the EU Regulations on property regimes of international couples.
Ирина Владимировна Сазонова, Vladlena S. Mazhaeva, Alexandr A. Potkin, Marina A. Kuznetsova
The evolution of digital technologies leads to a tectonic transformation of all spheres of society. Law, as a system of regulating public relations, is changing dynamically along with the development of public relations in different spheres. The development of IT led to the emergence of blockchain technology, which, in turn, became the basis for the development of smart contracts. Smart contract technology, as it develops, causes changes not only in the legislation, but also in the model of interaction between the state and business. Due to smart contracts, a significant part of the rules can be algorithmized, and the regulation can become machine-readable. Purpose of the research: Legal research of the current legislation, the synergy of business, law and economy in the implementation of smart contract technology, determination of theoretical concepts in relation to smart contracts, the content and problems of the application of smart contracts, and identification of the most significant proposals for improving legislation. Methods: The authors of the research used general and specific scientific methods. In the study of the technological foundations of the smart contract, the main methods were analysis, synthesis, analogy, and a system-structural approach.
Marina Kasatkina* Consumer Protection in the Light of Smart Contracts DOI: 10.54148/ELTELJ.2021.1.95 Abstract This article aims to evaluate how common forms and methods of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of consumers are applicable in the area of smart contracts. The author highlights the potential negative effects of smart contracts on consumer protection. In this […]
The articles focuses on opportunities and problems connected with implementation of smart contracts into “over-the-counter” derivatives trading. The importance of success of professionals who work on this cannot be underestimated: the volume of “over-the-counter” derivatives market is huge, its automatization and transparency provided by implemented smart contracts could dramatically increase its economic efficiency. In this study, the author aims at answering the following question: what aspects of “over-the-counter” derivatives trading could take a quantum leap because of the implementation of smart contacts and, per contra, what aspects could not benefit from implementation of underlying technologies at all. The author starts with the overview of “over-the-counter” derivatives market, investigates the matter of its internal design, main features and the structure of legal documentation used by market participants. Then the article provides the analysis of smart contract phenomenon, summary of its engineering aspects and difficulties connected with the implementation of smart contracts as a practical matter, including underlying legal issues. The third part is a synthesis of ideas indicated in previous parts. Herein the author examines the perspectives of adoption of smart contracts in “over-the-counter” derivatives trading, identifies the problems that cannot be resolved yet: different parts of legal relations existing between market participants shall be structured in a flexible way and shall be subject to revision under specific conditions. Smart contracts in their turn cannot be considered as a flexible tool and the revision of their terms requires the input from highly experienced specialists that dramatically increases the costs of their implementation and maintenance. As a matter of conclusion, the author gives recommendation to potential developers of smart contacts to implement them only in relation to the automatization of payments and deliveries as at the moment the clearing can be considered as the most appropriate area for the implementation and use of smart contracts.
Digital transformation affects almost all areas of government management, including public procurement. World experience shows that the procurement sector acts as a driver of digital transformation of corporations. According to the authors, digitalization of public procurement should not be an end in itself, a balanced approach is needed to make the contract system more open, accountable to citizens, convenient for business, cost-effective and anti-corruption. Currently, there have been significant changes in the public procurement system in the direction of its electronicization, electronic platforms, electronic stores for small purchases have appeared, all competitive procurement methods have switched to electronic format. The next stage in the development of the contract system is digitalization due to the transition to smart technologies, including blockchain, smart contracts, cloud services, artificial intelligence, bigdata. The purpose of this article is to show how digital technologies, including those successfully used in corporate procurement, will help move to state “procurement 4.0” and lead to the formation of an intellectual contract system, including eliminating the influence of the subjective “human” factor as much as possible, by transferring the collateral function making managerial decisions to artificial intelligence.
In the course of its economic and legal development, the formation and improvement of the financial system from a legal perspective continues to occur in Ukraine. Today, political transformations in one aspect or another affect the state of the financial system, that is, in some cases, they stabilize it, and in others, unfortunately, lead to its imbalance. At the same time, it should be noted that the financial system of Ukraine, as well as its functions in modern conditions, usually develop in close interaction with other links. Their interaction with the budget system is especially important for the functioning of the financial system itself since it contributes to the financial support of various branches of public life in Ukraine. At the same time, the axiology of the financial system of Ukraine requires analysis of its functional component, since in the legal and economic literature the specified category is still debatable. In addition, the concept of “financial system” is absent both in scientific sources and in the current legislation. The problems of the financial system have already been the subject of research by individual scholars. However, an analysis of their work shows that the administrative and legal aspects of the financial system are only partially revealed. That is why the purpose of this article is to analyze the very concept of the financial system and its components, as well as to study the impact on it of the relevant administrative and legal principles. As a result, it is concluded that finance, as well as the financial system as a whole, is crucial for the development of the state. They serve as the economic basis for the existence of even the state itself. The notion of “finance” is applied not only to the sphere of state property but also to the sphere of the effect of private relations, because in Ukraine the market relations develop. In this regard, finance is regarded as a public-law and private-law category, which is the very foundation of Ukraine’s financial system. Nowadays in Ukraine, there is a tendency of scientific research of peculiarities of legal regulation of a certain type of activity, including financial, because the latter has state-defined elements. Given that the main elements of the financial system include finance: state, local, economic entities of all forms of ownership, the non-productive sphere of activity, the population of the financial market, as well as financial infrastructure, it is possible to improve the definition of the content of the financial system as a set regulated by financial and legal norms individual units of financial relations and financial institutions through which the state creates, distributes and uses centralized and decentralized funds. This definition directly indicates that there is a specific model of legal influence created by a special combination of legal regulation of financial relations in Ukraine. The aforementioned allows convincingly to assert that in Ukraine there is an administrative-legal regime of the financial system, which is functionally oriented to the performance of functions and actions of the authorized state bodies in the implementation and provision of all elements of the financial system. Keywords: administrative and legal principles of the financial system, financial system, finances, money.
The transition to market relations increases the relevance of the study of decentralized finance. As P. A. Levchaev rightly remarked, due to the historical specifics, the peculiarity of Russia's financial science was a detailed study of the state finances of the planned economy of socialism. In contrast, the functioning of the finances of business entities often remained insufficiently studied. So, the subject of financial law is a state and municipal finance. Private decentralized finance is not studied by legal financial science, which gives rise to a fragmentary regulation of these relations by civil law.
Recently smart contracts become more and more popular in such areas as initial coins offering (ICO), financial sector, international trade and public services. At the same time there is almost no legal regulation of smart contracts. There are unsuccessfull tries to regulate smart contracts bu security legislation. There are continuing discussions over whether a smart contract can be considered a civil contract and whether violated rights of the parties of smart contract could be protected in trail. The purpose of this article is to assess the practice of legal regulation of smart contracts worldwide and in Ukraine and to develop proposals for improvement of legal regulation of smart contracts. An analysis of law regulation of smart contracts in different countries of the world shows the initial state of the law in this area, significant differences between national systems of law and almost complete absence of judicial precedents. Most countries are trying to regulate smart contracts by securities and financial instruments legislation, which neither takes into account the economic nor legal nature of the smart contract. The greatest progress in legal regulation has reached Belarus, which has recognized the smart contract as a type of civil contract and cryptocurrency as the official means of payment. In Ukraine, despite the active implementation of blockchain technology in state registers, there is no legal regulation of smart contracts and cryptocurrency. The Government Concept of the development of digital economy and society for 2018 – 2020 and conclusions of financial regulators on the legal status of cryptocurrencies determine the need to develop legal regulation of the digital economy. In my oppinion, Ukraine should recognize the most widespread cryptocurrencies as official means of payment and issue its own state cryptocurrency. The legal regulation of tokens used in initial coins offering should be similar to the legal regulation of of debt securities. It is necessary to amend the civil legislation in order to recognize a smart contract as a type of civil contract expressed in the form of programming code and automatically executed in a distributed network. To minimize risks of smart contracts it is necessary to state requirements of mandatory identification of parties and to implement mandatory electronic application containing the essential terms of the contract which will have legal force in case of a programming code error and to resolve litigation between the parties.
Elena Kirillova, Богдан Варвара Владимировна, Igor B. Lagutin, Evgeniy Dmitrievich Gorevoy
This article using critical analysis discusses the legal status of smart contracts, their features and characteristics, and the possibility of introducing this category into the legal field. The main goal of the study is to determine the legal status of smart contracts. The study concludes that a smart contract is a program code based on blockchain technology, which, by legal characteristics, is a legally significant message recorded in a language (artificial language) and sealed with an electronic digital signature of each of the parties (or certified with a special key). It is proved that the multilateral interactions implemented through smart contracts can reduce the costs of operations and control them, increase the speed of operations and reduce the risks associated with dishonest actions of the parties, minimize or completely exclude intermediaries from the transaction; therefore, legislation should provide for the possibility of using smart contracts along with existing contracts.
The article focuses on whether it is possible to use new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT) in shareholder ledger maintenance systems. The article uses Estonia as an example to describe the shortcomings of shareholder ledger maintenance regulation and possible suggestions for reform and applies the principle of technology-neutrality to the subject matter to assess whether the regulation allows the adoption of new technologies, such as DLT, in ledger maintenance. The aim of the principle of technology-neutrality is to secure that the regulator does not create regulation that prefers any particular technology and discriminates against other technologies. Any regulation that is built around a pre-existing technology could suffer from preferring the use of that particular technology and consequently hinder innovation. In the article it is examined whether the ledger maintenance models used in Estonia are benefitting or suffering from the non-existence of technology-neutral technical standards for ledger maintenance and whether the differentiation of treatment of shareholder ledger administrators is justified on the basis of the principle of technology-neutrality.
The paper is devoted to the legal regulation of smart contracts in French law. The question of the admissibility of the use of smart contracts in economic relations is considered. Particular attention is given to the French legal doctrine in the issue of formulating the definition of “smart contract” and identifying its characteristic features, the various points of view of French legal scholars are compared. Examples of the most effective use of a smart contract in economic relations are given. The problems of applying contractual legal obligations and obligations of French law to smart contracts are considered. The importance of the oracle for the implementation of the smart contract and the features of its legal status under French law are disclosed.
Verhaalsbeslag op bitcoins Verhaalsbeslag op bitcoins is mogelijk door (1) de drager waarop de privésleutel staat waarmee over bitcoins kan worden beschikt (de paper of hardware wallet ) als waardepapier te kwalificeren, (2) op die wallet conservatoir verhaalsbeslag te leggen en als de toegang tot die wallet beveiligd is met een code, de schuldenaar te dwingen die code prijs te geven, (3) de bitcoins naar een andere, door een bank of DNB nieuw geopende bitcoinrekening over te maken, en (4) de paper of hardware wallet van die nieuwe bitcoinrekening te zijner tijd executoriaal te verkopen.
Abstract This study develops a review of Blockchain legal regulations in Ukraine. The authors analyze use of Blockchain technology in administration and provision of public services in modern Ukraine. It is stressed that the illegal status of Blockchain and cryptocurrency in Ukraine is a barrier to the full use of these instruments in all spheres of modern life in Ukraine. The caselaw in the field of cryptocurrency use is analyzed.
Open access
Ukrainian Legal and Forensic Studies
Legal Studies and Reforms
Legal, Health, Environmental and COVID-19 Challenges
Technology is entering every part of our daily life leading to integration with all aspects of modern society. Social sciences research is not an exception of this role. The fourth revolution is intertwined in the process we do research. In this thesis, two models are designed based on blockchain and smart contract technology to solve the current problems in the existing traditional models. Those traditional models proved to have certain problems including being inflexible and having so many parties involved the network. The new model provided by this thesis is built upon blockchain and smart contract technology. Therefore, those networks have the benefits of being more flexible and having less parties involved in the network. the first case is a crowdfunding network, we have examined a traditional crowdfunding and developed a similar one based on blockchain and smart contracts technology to overcome the drawbacks of the existing network. the second case is a marriage contract network where we built a network similar to the traditional one but has the ability to remove the burden of wasting time and effort. Finally, both cases are compared based on the change in structure and functions of each party in the network. We have seen some changes in terms of structure between the two networks, however, the main change came in the functions of each party and the removal on unnecessary ones in the network which is expected to reduce the transaction cost.