The purpose of the study is to assess changes in Russian legislation and legislative initiatives related to cryptocurrencies and digital financial assets. The article focuses on the possible economic consequences of using cryptocurrency for Russian business; determining the degree of impact of transactions with digital assets on the country's economy in connection with the introduction of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation regarding cryptocurrency. The scientific novelty lies in the development and theoretical justification of the legal principles of regulation of cryptocurrency and its place in the domestic legal system, the need to improve the legislation of the Russian Federation in relation to cryptocurrency is substantiated. As a result, the existing legal framework governing the circulation of cryptocurrencies and digital assets in Russia was analyzed, measures of responsibility for failure to report on transactions with cryptocurrencies were identified, and the need to eliminate disagreements on the legalization of cryptocurrencies in the country was substantiated.
Public procurement is one of the priority areas of economic development in the Russian Federation due to the need to ensure targeted and efficient spending of budget funds. Without a doubt, the use of innovative digital tools in the procurement sector will lead to an increase in the quality of public procurement. The purpose of this study is to analyze the digitalization prospects of public procurement, highlighting the main stages of digitalization of public procurement in the Russian Federation, methods of using digital tools in the procurement of goods, work, services for state and municipal needs. The article also explores the possibility of using distributed ledger technology (blockchain) in public procurement in Russia.The methodological basis of the study was made up of both general scientific and private scientific methods of cognition. As a result of the study
The paper is devoted to the application of the principles of law in contractual relations, the emergence or implementation of which are associated with the use of digital means. The development of digital technologies has caused objective changes in the structure and qualities of economic turnover. At the same time, objective changes mean those that are formed due to changes in the behavior of private entities at the micro level. The author substantiates the thesis according to which, in conditions of a lack of regulatory regulation, the relevant principles of law are in demand sources of law for resolving potential conflicts of interest. The author states that in conditions when the main categories of civil law are being revised — subjects (identity identification), objects (tokenization), transactions (ways of expressing will in the digital economy), fulfillment of obligations (smart contracts), the main thing that law will remain unchanged is its principles. The principles of law are lawthemselves; the rest is either changing forms of relations that law affects, or a changing mechanism for the implementation of legal ideas. In turn, it is the principles of law that contain invariable methods of resolving conflicts of interest, which is the main subject of law. Complicating the contractual relationship with a digital element not only does not cancel the application of principles to such relations, but at the stage of insufficient regulatory regulation as a means of implementing the principles of law requires their active use to resolve conflicts of interest. The paper classifies some cases of digital means application at the stage of concluding a contract, fulfilling obligations, and enforcement. The potential of the principles of law for resolving disputable situations in digital contractual relations at each stage of the development of contractual legal relations is shown.
Современный период развития российского общества характеризуется цифровизацией основных институтов общества, которая, однако, идёт гораздо интенсивнее, чем развитие российского законодательства. Статья посвящена анализу сущности невзаимозаменяемого токена (NFT, nonfungible token), особенностям их создания и обращения, а также необходимостью внедрения данного феномена в законодательство РФ как предмета интеллектуальной собственности, цифровых прав, а также урегулирование вопроса перехода исключительных прав на сами NFT объекты. Автор видит перспективы для введения института цифровых прав, в частности таких правовых феноменов, как NFT, в законодательство отдельных стран. В статье предложены конкретные изменения в статьи гражданского, а также уголовного и семейного законодательства, направленные на устранение существующих пробелов правового регулирования данного вопроса и развитие NFT в будущем. The modern period of development of Russian society is characterized by the digitalization of the main institutions of society, which, however, is much more intensive than the development of Russian legislation. The article is devoted to the analysis of the essence of NFT, the peculiarities of their creation and circulation, as well as the need to introduce this phenomenon into the legislation of the Russian Federation as a subject of intellectual property, digital rights, as well as the settlement of the issue of the transfer of exclusive rights to the NFT objects themselves. The author sees prospects for the introduction of the institution of digital rights, in particular, such legal phenomena as NFT, into the legislation of individual countries. The paper proposes specific changes to articles of civil, as well as criminal and family law, aimed at eliminating the existing gaps in the legal regulation of this issue and the development of NFT in the future.
Purpose of the article is to assess legal possibilities of using cryptocurrencies by the Russian Federation in order to evade international economic sanctions and formulate appropriate proposals.Research methods.The paper is executed by applying the general research and special methods of scientific cognition.Results.The article is devoted to the legal assessment of the possibilities of using cryptocurrencies by the Russian Federation in order to evade international economic sanctions with further substantiation of relevant proposals.It is proved that the cryptocurrency market cannot fully replace classical financial mechanisms for the Russian Federation, as the aggressor country.Therefore, we can talk about individual cases of withdrawal by residents of the Russian Federation of their own assets out of sanctions in the form of cryptocurrency with their subsequent conversion into fiat currencies.It is noted that legal operators of the virtual assets market, as well as professional participants involved in the chain of transactions with virtual assets, carry out their activities in accordance with the requirements of FATF and national legislation on prevention of funds laundering and combating terrorism.At the same time, it is established that the use of decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) and technologies increasing the anonymity of transactions (in particular, bitcoin mixer (tumbler), private, decentralized cryptocurrency (Monero), shadow banking), creates grounds to evade the norms of prevention and counteraction money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and negate the effect of international economic sanctions.Conclusions.International initiatives regarding the legal regulation of stablecoins create risks for the Decentralized Finance industry and for using the decentralized crypto-asset market for fraud, including circumventing sanctions, but, at the same time, do not fully mitigate the risks associated with the circulation of stablecoins.Accordingly, the arguments in favor of taking appropriate international legal measures aimed at combating shadow banking and organizing the circulation of virtual assets are expressed.Thus, only cryptocurrencies, which are secured by currency values, securities or derivative financial instruments at the moment of their introduction and during the whole period of their stay in circulation, should be subject to conversion into fiat currencies.
The article discusses the features of non-interchangeable tokens from the point of view of law. The author reveals and systematizes the rights to NFT, offers solutions to existing problems. In addition, the article proposes the concept of hybrid rights, invented by the author.
<ns2:p>In modern Russia, thanks to the development of digital technologies, the usual image of economic relations is radically changing. The list of possibilities of their application in the modern world is rapidly expanding. The construction of a digital economy system as the most optimal environment for the application of these technologies is the logical outcome of digital transformation. Against this background, virtual economic relations, electronic payment services, virtual crypto exchanges, crowdfunding are actively developing, which contributes to the development of electronic money and digital currencies. These processes have increased the number of criminal manifestations, crime has been modernized, new types of crime have appeared, as well as new objects, methods and means of committing crimes. The results of the author’s comprehensive crime study indicate an increase in crimes committed using digital currency (cryptocurrency) [1, p. 89; 2, p. 287]. In this connection, consideration of the problems of its conceptual apparatus, legal regulation, study of the issues of legalization of this digital asset, criminal activities with its use may be now necessary to ensure criminological security, since national authorities do not control digital currency (cryptocurrency); it can compete with national fiat currencies and lead to their weakening. At the same time, the development of the digital currency (cryptocurrency) market and the growth of transactions is increasing daily. Sometimes they are used for criminal purposes. However, the insufficiency of its regulation is not conducive to the prevention of crimes in which it is the means of commission and the object of criminal activity. The purpose of the article is to develop scientifically sound proposals for improving criminal legislation and preventing crimes committed both in relation to digital currency (cryptocurrency) and with their use. Methods. In the course of the study, general scientific methods of cognition are used, as well as special scientific methods (system-structural, formal-logical extrapolations, prognostic, documentary analysis, statistical, interviewing, etc.). The results of the study show a high level of acts committed both in relation to the digital currency and with its use. Such crimes are characterized by a high degree of public danger, determined by the damage caused to the individual, society and the state, as well as the commission of acts by representatives of transnational organized crime, characteristics of the object and means of committing such crimes, social consequences, and a high level of latency. The relevance and expediency of criminalization of these crimes is proved, as evidenced by crime statistics, materials of judicial practice, the nature and degree of their public danger, and the possibility of influencing them by legal means. Proposals have been prepared and presented to improve criminal legislation in the field of preventing crimes committed using digital currency (cryptocurrency).</ns2:p>
Digital technologies have been integrated into all aspects of public life, including politics, law, finance, business, education, science, and society. As a result of the use of digital technologies by various subjects, a transformation has occurred of the economic relations existing in society, including corporate relations. This study analyzes the impact of digitalization on individual institutions of corporate law. The authors investigate the following aspects of the digitalization of corporate law: (1) digital legal personality of the corporation (online registration (e-residency) of corporations and the digital footprint that companies leave in public registers); (2) digital corporate governance; and (3) digital (network or decentralized) autonomous organizations. The purpose of this research is to identify trends and directions of transformation of individual institutions of corporate law in a digital society. The authors conclude that the digitalization of institutions of corporate law will result in: (1) the reinterpretation of certain concepts of corporate law, such as corporation and corporate governance; (2) the improvement of the legal mechanisms of corporate governance following the introduction of AI into the collegial executive bodies of corporations; (3) the digitalization of corporate assets; and (4) the emergence of new subjects of corporate and other relevant relations.
The article is devoted to the study of the experience of legal regulation of the legal status of cryptocurrencies and transactions with them in Asian countries (except for the People's Republic of China and Asian countries - members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, as the author examined them in separate publications). In the article the author, based on the study of regulations, administrative and judicial practice of all major countries in this part of the world, emphasizes the divergent trends in cryptocurrency transactions regulation in the region, when some countries move from a liberal approach to the use of cryptocurrencies to their total ban and vice versa. It is noted that almost all countries in the region give a legal assessment of the payment function of cryptocurrencies, using regulatory or prohibitive approaches, depending on the chosen policy, which indirectly confirms their understanding of the legal nature of cryptocurrencies primarily as a means of payment. At the same time, these countries not only categorically distinguish cryptocurrencies from fiat money issued by central banks, but also mostly avoid the official definition of cryptocurrency as private (decentralized) cash, preferring to qualify them as an intangible asset, virtual asset, digital asset, financial value and even a good or service, which is currently a kind of compromise between political expediency and economic realities. The author also notes that the Asian region is characterized by very active attempts to resolve the legal status of cryptocurrencies at the legislative level, and not just administrative or judicial response to the actual legal relationship, although the progress of different countries in this matter is different.
 As a result, the author concludes that in the Asian countries considered in the article, there is no same view on the legal nature of cryptocurrency, its qualification as an object of civil rights, and ways to regulate transactions with it (libertarian approach, positive-cryptocurrency approach but with detailed government regulation and control or a completely restrictive policy in relation to the cryptocurrency market).
The article is devoted to the study of the current state and prospects of further legislative regulation of the legal status of cryptocurrency in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. According to the analysis of the current legal framework in these countries, the author notes that the regulation of legal status and cryptocurrency transactions in the CIS countries is heterogeneous - from the level of adjustment of existing codifications of civil law and the adoption of special legislation on legal regulation of innovative financial instruments to only by-laws or in the absence of special legislation at all, including a deliberate (but for various reasons) refusal to normalize this legal phenomenon. In the latter case, countries apply to cryptocurrency transactions the current tools of civil, tax, administrative and criminal law (depending on public policy in this area), which does not fully correspond to the novelty of this legal phenomenon, and thus leads to legal uncertainty and legal conflicts of private persons with the state. The author states that the countries of the union use different practices to regulate this legal phenomenon: from completely restrictive, to partially restrictive (with the possibility of mining and operations outside national jurisdic-tion) or completely liberal. There are no common approaches of the CIS countries to understanding the legal status of cryptocurrencies as an object of civil rights - depending on the country, they are classified as digital (virtual) assets, other property, property rights. The author emphasizes that almost all the states of the union deny the possi-bility of using cryptocurrencies as means of payment and units of account (except for the payment for the services of cryptocurrency exchanges in the countries where they exist). As a result, the author concludes that attempts to unify the legal regulation of the status and circulation of cryptocurrencies in the CIS countries are currently unsuccessful, which, according to the author, is explained by different levels of democratization of domestic political life and eco-nomic structure of CIS countries as well as by their acceptance of different legal traditions (Western and Chinese).
The emergence of digital technologies contributed to the emergence and rapid development of digital commerce, and at the same time, the number of electronic payments, the use of digital and virtual currencies increased. The article presents an analysis of the legal nature of such a financial instrument as cryptocurrency, characterizes the distinctive features, highlights the advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of the work is to consider the regulatory legal position of cryptocurrency in the modern world, to highlight the legal practice in cases of the circulation of cryptocurrency, to study the role of cryptocurrency in transnational offenses, to explore possible options for combating cybercrime, which is carried out using the use of cryptocurrency. The methodology of the work is represented by a set of methods and techniques, operations that are used to study the topic and achieve the set goal, namely: hermeneutic, historical, extrapolation, comparative-legal, comparison and generalization, analysis, synthesis, deduction. Results of the work: in today's reality there is no unified international legal regulation of cryptocurrency, which complicates the prevention and fight against transnational offenses, the means or subject of which are cryptocurrencies and mining.
Современные исследования все чаще направлены как на получение новых знаний, так и на практическое применение, с акцентом на контекст и социальную значимость. В связи со стиранием границ между дисциплинами традиционных академических определений и критериев качества исследований уже недостаточно. Эффективные критерии их качества необходимы для управления финансированием, постоянным развитием и продвижением научных методов, проектов и программ, отсутствие таких критериев тормозит развитие исследований. Соответствующая оценка качества существенно влияет на поддержку и финансирование научных поисков, а также нацеливает исследователей и руководителей на выполнение высококачественных исследований и обучает их этому. Между тем подходы к оценке исследований до сих пор базируются прежде всего на обнародовании научных результатов (престиж публикации и печатного издания), цитатах и экспертной оценке. Хотя эти показатели качества исследований остаются актуальными, нужны дополнительные критерии для характеристики результатов исследований и долгосрочных социальных последствий. Среди многочисленных определений финансирования в децентрализацию высшего образования отечественными учеными приведем следующие: децентрализация касается предоставления общественных услуг населению, что, со своей стороны, требует решения вопросов распределения полномочий, собственности и финансовых ресурсов. Modern research is increasingly focused both on obtaining new knowledge and on practical application, with an emphasis on context and social significance. Due to the blurring of boundaries between disciplines, traditional academic definitions and research quality criteria are no longer sufficient. Effective quality criteria are necessary to manage funding, continuous development and promotion of scientific methods, projects and programs, the absence of such criteria hinders the development of research. Appropriate quality assessment significantly affects the support and financing of scientific research, and also targets researchers and managers to perform high-quality research and trains them to do so. Meanwhile, approaches to the evaluation of research are still based primarily on the publication of scientific results (the prestige of publication and print edition), citations and expert evaluation. Although these indicators of research quality remain relevant, additional criteria are needed to characterize research results and long-term social consequences. Among the numerous definitions of financing for the decentralization of higher education by domestic scientists, we will cite the following: decentralization concerns the provision of public services to the population, which, for its part, requires solving issues of the distribution of powers, property and financial resources.
The article examines the features of criminal liability for transactions related to the circulation of cryptocurrencies. In order to determine the specifics of criminal violations in the field of cryptocurrency circulation, the legal nature of cryptocurrencies is studied. It is concluded that in order to properly qualify criminal offenses related to the circulation of cryptocurrencies, it is advisable to recognize cryptocurrencies as a type of property or money. The article analyzes the global approaches to the legal regulation of relations related to the circulation of cryptocurrencies. Based on the results of this analysis, it is concluded that relations regarding cryptocurrencies in most countries of the world are insufficiently regulated and are still outside of the legal field. This complicates, inter alia, the establishment of criminal liability for transactions involving the circulation of cryptocurrencies. A significant part of the article is devoted directly to the study of criminal liability for transactions involving the circulation of cryptocurrencies in different countries. The norms of the Criminal Codes, which establish liability for criminal violations in the field of cryptocurrency circulation, are analyzed. The measures that need to be implemented to ensure the control of government agencies over the circulation of cryptocurrencies and the security of all operations related to cryptocurrencies are identified.
The study is dedicated to various jurisdictions’ approaches to cryptocurrency relations regulation. The digital assets'legal status in the European Union is analyzed both at the central level as well at the level of such EU members as Malta, Romania, Germany. Among the countries that geographically belong to Europe, but are not members of the European Union, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are considered in this aspect. The authors also reviewed the most important issues of cryptocurrency regulation in the largest economy in the world - the United States. The Asian region is represented in the study by the jurisdictions where digital assets are most widespread (China and Japan). The main conclusion is that the Republic of Moldova should develop the balanced approach to legalizing the new sphere of socio-economic relations by taking into consideration both positive and negative experience as well as the best legal practices of other states in this field.
Blockchain's usage is increasing, and the number of possible implications that have been explored and created is mind-boggling. This paper would look at some other potential blockchain implementations in the legal sector, especially in the sense of social regulation. The blockchain-based social regulator, which is neither created nor supported by any government or governmental institution, has the potential to transform the planet or its components into something known as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). These assumptions are most likely too broad. The presented research focuses on a key and practical overview of regulations in a blockchain DAO that could be framed in the future and has the potential to affect current legal essentials. The study applies comparative method, using international public law and Lex Mercatoria as primary juxtaposition.
The article is devoted to the problems of improving the tax legislation of Russia at the stage of active implementation of blockchain technology, which is characterized by contradictory trends in the legal regulation of digital technologies. The relevance of the study of application of blockchain in tax relations is due to the need to assess the tax consequences of transactions using digital financial assets, as well as emergence of new directions for improving tax control based on blockchain technology. The purpose of the study is to analyze the provisions of Russian and foreign tax legislation, as well as doctrinal sources on improving legal regulation of tax relations in regard to blockchain technology. The study shows efficacy of the blockchain analysis for the purposes of tax and legal regulation carried out by developing concepts related to applying such technological solution as a tool in conducting cryptocurrency transactions. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the authors definition of the concept of blockchain technology for tax purposes, as well as in proving the value of legal regulation of tax relations applying blockchain. The practical implication is connected with voicing the need to develop legal regulation of applying blockchain technology when creating a system of transactional (automatic) taxation and levying the so-called smart taxes while fulfilling tax obligations in the context of introducing a goods traceability mechanism. This will also contribute to minimizing tax reporting. The research methodology are general and private scientific methods of knowledge: formal-legal, analysis, comparative-legal, and forecasting and modeling. The last two are often applied in tax law in light of digitalization and globalization.
Sustainable development can be attained at a microlevel and having smart campuses around the world presents an opportunity to achieve city-wide smartness. In the process of attaining smartness on campuses, the elements requiring attention must be investigated. There are many publications on smart campuses, and this investigation used the bibliometric analysis method to identify such publications produced over the last decade. A matrix of 578 nodes and 3217 edges was developed from 285 publications on smart campus construction and procurement. Fifteen cluster themes were produced from the bibliometric analysis. The findings revealed that China contributed 48.4% of all published articles on the smart campus. The findings presented a framework from the cluster themes under the four broad infrastructure areas of building construction or repurposing, technology and IT network, continuous improvement, and smart learning and teaching management. The implications of the findings identified that IT project management, traditional procurement strategy, and standard forms of contracts such as the New Engineering Contract (NEC) and the Joint Contract Tribunal (JCT) are applicable in the procurement of smart cities.
Open access
Smart Cities and Technologies
Innovative Approaches in Technology and Social Development
The formation of local self-government in the post-Soviet space takes place in difficult economic and political conditions under the influence of various, often directed in the opposite way, factors. For Russia, the experience of forming a new institution for all post-Soviet states is of significant practical importance since it faces many difficulties in its course. Within the framework of the invariant of the transition from centralized management to decentralization, the variant of this process in the Central Asian countries is more relevant for our country since it is carried out under conditions largely similar to those in Russia. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to highlight the key historical, economic and political factors of local self-government formation in the Central Asian states in order to deepen the understanding of the ways and possibilities of creating a sufficiently autonomous local level of public power in systems that have long operated within the framework of strict centralization and seek to form a new organizational structure and use new management mechanisms and tools to improve the efficiency of the process and achieve the main systemic goal of the modern state – improving the quality of life in the country. The relevance of the study of these processes is beyond doubt due to the need to understand the role and place of self-government in the structure of public power in accordance with the amendments made in 2020 to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The study of options for local-level opportunities in a comparative perspective when analyzing public authorities in Central Asian countries also opens the way to new solutions to Russian problems.
Xiaoyong Xiao, Lin Jin, Faris Kateb, Hooreya Mohamed Ahmed Aldeeb
Abstract Mathematics is a prerequisite for the development of blockchain technology. The deeply penetrated mathematical ideas support the establishment of the trust mechanism of the whole blockchain system, which makes the blockchain technology autonomous, decentralised, not so easy to tamper, open, anonymous and also possesses other characteristics. Due to these characteristics, the introduction of blockchain will greatly solve a series of problems faced by the quality and acquisition of big data in cities, and release more data vitality. Based on the perspective of chain blocks and big data fusion, this paper puts forward that data are the foundation of modern urban governance. Data management has become the key to modern urban governance. It puts forward that the building of a big data management system based on blockchain will strengthen the construction of the intelligent city and modernisation of urban governance capabilities.
Maria A. Egorova, Luibov Andreeva, Владимир Андреев, Imeda A. Tsindeliani · 5 authors
Abstract Using the case study method, the study examines the prospects and initiatives of the state that can create preconditions for the formation of new areas of legal regulation in the field of digital public procurement as well as issues of improving the mechanisms of information systems, taking into account the specifics of states with a multi-structured economy. The objective of the study is to assess the applicability of the tools for digital transformation of the Russian Federation in the field of public procurement in the context of international practice. Confirming all the advantages of the idea of digital transformation of public procurement systems, the Russian experience is intended to demonstrate what problems at the level of legislative regulation the state policy associated with the implementation of such systems can face. In this case, in contrast to foreign practices, the Russian system of electronic public procurement in the aggregate creates a single information space that, in fact, has no direct analogues and is a special example of interaction between electronic platforms in this area. In addition, the example of introducing distributed ledger technology into such systems is significant from the point of view of the functioning of electronic public procurement platforms. The results of this study and the tools used to assess legal regulation in the field of public procurement can be used by state authorities of the Russian Federation, taking into account the needs of entrepreneurs, to better assess the feasibility and consequences of participation in public procurement procedures. This study’s results can also be of relevance to researchers of comparative legislation in the field of legal regulation of public procurement.
The use of digital technology is increasing in all spheres of society. And the right is no exception. Many technologies are designed to simplify work, save time and serve the goals of globalization of relations, as well as their decentralization. Smart contracts are one way to achieve this goal. The article discusses the possibility of applying smart contracts in the workplace, where the personal nature of relationships is one of the features that directly affect the prospects for the use of smart contracts in the area in question.
The article reviews the essence of blockchain – the technology of new generation, raised from the computer and internet development. The article also analyses several aspects in legal regulation of one of the most famous cryptocurrencies: Ethereum by using the blockchain technology. Except for that, the article describes steps of computer and internet development and the involvement of blockchain in these steps, as a revolutionary invention. The article analyses the essence of blockchain technology, the steps of its development and also, coming from its high confidentiality, the possibilities of its legal regulation by the states. In this regard, several countries are represented as an example (Great Britain, Vietnam, Canada). Except for blockchain, the article reviews essence and specification of Ethereum, as the cryptocurrency, as well as smart contract, analyses the area of smart contract development and the indispensability of its legal regulation, because they have an ability to detach simple consumer agreements in one of the directions of digital economy – electronic commerce, in the nearest future. In addition to this, the binary nature Ethereum is also analyzed, in particular it can be a method of payment, as well as have a form of a legally binding deal – contract with the high self-fulfillment mechanism and securing parties confidentiality standards.