This article is aimed at identifying the approaches of a number of foreign countries that are being implemented to address the issues of using distributed ledger technology (blockchain) in relation to real estate transactions, and some aspects of the situation in Russia. The starting point of the research is the currently observed creeping networking - the establishment of non-market communication, which is beginning to replace purely monetary regulators in the economy, law and other spheres of the life of the society. In this format the article analyzes approaches of foreign countries that create patterns of permissibility and assent of different applications of distributed ledger technology (blockchain) in relation to real estate transactions (sale & purchase contracts, leases, etc.), the potential of such an application and the existing legal (including mentality, tradition, etc.) basis based on analytical reflections on the information gathered from sources and literature from the list of references. The author reveals the dependence of the permissibility (acceptability, acceptance, etc.) of using distributed real estate ledgers in foreign countries on the degree of involvement of the intermediary (Registrar of rights, etc.) in real estate transactions and the notary system in force in the country. The relevance, theoretical and practical significance of such a research is due to the fact that a number of approaches to legislation can be useful in finding answers to similar questions related to the understanding, development and adoption of a similar approach by our country, and the fact that this study serves to fill in the existing gap in the coverage of legal and other approaches of foreign countries in the field under study in the modern period. The author's results are presented among others in the idea that the more types of real estate registration in the countries under study are not required, the better space for implementing blockchain-based transactions will there still be. This prospect, however, is negated by the desire of the parties themselves to register transactions & contracts that according to law does not need any registrations in order to create a legal certainty regime for themselves.
Pamateni ugovori kao vrsta digitalnog i računalnog izvršavanja neke njemu specificirane programske logike mogu poslužiti u raznim primjenama gdje sudionici ne vjeruju jedan drugome i potreban im je posrednik ili decentralizirani medij kao blockchain gdje nitko neće imati kontrolu, a pametni ugovor će se svejedno moći izvršiti. Pametni ugovori imaju usku funkcionalnost ako se samo bave onim što se događa na blockchainu, ali ako ih želimo povezati sa vanjskim svijetom potreban je entitet imena Oracle, koji služi kao poveznica sa informacijama iz vanjskog svijeta i operacijama koje se jedino mogu izvršavati izvan blockchaina (npr. slanje novca preko bankarskog sustava itd.). Mi smo koristili Chainlink decentraliziranu Oracle mrežu i njihovu tehnologiju da bi povezali pametne ugovore sa vanjskim svijetom. Kreirali smo mobilnu i web aplikaciju te ih povezali sa pametnim ugovorom kreiranim na testnom Kovan Ethereum blockchainu. Funkcionalnost tog pametnog ugovora je bila a registrirani korisnici mogu prelaziti zadane rute te biti sigurni da će njihovi lokacijski podaci nastali prilikom izvršavanja rute na siguran način obraditi i biti upisani na blockchain pomoću Chainlink čvorova tj. operatora koji su uz pomoć dodatkovnog programa (eng. Data Adapter) procesirali i obradili te lokacijske podatke.
Человеку по своей природе свойственно все упрощать и оптимизировать процесс своей работы. Изобретение компьютера и вычислительной техники позволили людям упростить и облегчить математические вычисления. Очередь оцифровывания добралась и до договорного права. В настоящей статье автор на основе гражданского законодательства Российской Федерации и зарубежных стран проводит анализ возможности применения смарт-контракта и юридические последствия его использования. It is human by nature to simplify and optimize the process of his work. The invention of the computer and computing technology allowed humans to simplify and facilitate mathematical calculations. The line of digitization has also reached contract law. In this article, the author analyzes the possibility of using a smart contract and the legal consequences of its use based on the civil legislation of the Russian Federation and foreign countries.
The article analyzes the possibility of including one of the types of digital rights of cryptocurrency as a potential object of bankruptcy estate. It is concluded that it is possible to include cryptocurrency, which is stored in a cryptocurrency wallet in the electronic system into the bankruptcy estate up to its real value with which creditors’ claims can be satisfied. The problems arising in connection with the inclusion of cryptocurrency in the bankruptcy estate of the insolvent debtor associated with the anonymity of its ownership and the specifics of the foreclosure have been identified. The anonymity of the existence of cryptocurrency in the electronic system does not allow the inclusion of property in the bankruptcy estate without the assistance of the debtor. It is recognized that cryptocurrency cannot be traded via electronic auctions in bankruptcy proceedings due to its existence in the framework of a special information system and short time price volatility. A distinction between cryptocurrency and electronic money has been made.
This article analyzes the concept and essential properties of blockchain: decentralization, usage of cryptography, autonomy, presence of consensus mechanisms, anonymity and transparency of the chain of blocks. Alongside the advantages, the article describes the disadvantages of blockchain: high cost of development and implementation of blockchain-based solutions and their utilization (high energy requirements); low speed of data processing; potential unauthorized changes to the database; absence of confidentiality of blockchain users. The author considers the scientific views on the need for legal regulation of the blockchain. An overview is presented on the global achievements in the area of blockchain standardization, as well as key vectors of standardization: terminology, reference architecture, security and confidentiality, management, smart contracts. An original definition of blockchain that takes into account its essential properties is provided. Two spheres of regulation are distinguished: legal regulation of relations that apply blockchain, and regulation of the blockchain technology itself (terminology, ontology, taxonomy, reference architecture, management, etc.). The conclusion is made on invalidity of the proposals on the unified legal regulation of blockchain (for example, formation of the universal law on blockchain), implying different areas of implementation of this technology. The author justifies the need for standardization of blockchain, as well as describes the key advantages of such standardization. It is underlined that the standards would not substitute the specific legal regulation, but would ensure the conditions for creating the legal framework in accordance with the requirements of technological reality.
The subject of this research is the legal norms that regulate legal relations in the context of application of blockchain technology and smart contracts based on it in the area of online advertising and intellectual property. The object of this research is the social relations emerging in the indicated spheres. Analysis is conducted on the concepts and characteristics of blockchain technology and smart contracts. The author also reviews some controversial theoretical and practical issues, such as terminology, legal nature of blockchain, smart contracts, and related concepts. Examples are provided of the currently existing blockchain platforms and services premised on them. The novelty of the conducted research consists in focusing on the relevant problems that emerge in the conditions of network economy in such spheres as online advertising and intellectual property. On the example of blockchain platforms functioning in the indicated spheres, the author reveals the problems the can be resolved using such technologies. The author also underlines certain practical difficulties that arise in the process of application of blockchain and smart contracts, particularly associated with the absence of legal definition of a number of concepts. The examples of corresponding court decisions are provided. A proposal is made on the need for consolidation on the legislative level of definitions of such concepts as “blockchain”, “smart contract”, “cryptocurrency”, and “token”.
Jenny Alexandra Triana Casallas, Juan Manuel Cueva Lovelle, José Ignacio Rodríguez Molano
The appearance of so-called block chains or Blockchain with the promise of transforming trust and the way value is exchanged, joins the expansion of the technological capabilities of organizations to achieve higher levels of productivity and innovation. This is how Blockchain-based techniques are being applied to many fields, focusing in this article on the public sector, as a possible solution to the demands for transparency, participation and citizen cooperation that society demands; due to the possibility of disintermediation based on automated transactions and on the responsibility and security in the management of official blockchain records. This could obstruct corruption and make government services more transparent and efficient. Although, it investigates about applications in the public sector under the Blockchain system, such as transactions, agreements, property registries and innovations, developments and other assets; Special emphasis is placed on the possibility of implementing Smart Contracts (mechanisms that aim to eliminate intermediaries to simplify processes) in public procurement procedures, given that it is in this type of activity where high levels of corruption are generated. It is concluded then that Europe has the largest number of blockchain initiatives worldwide, while Latin America, except for the case of Peru, lacks this type of applications, being this continent exactly where there are the countries with the highest levels of corruption. It concludes with a recommendation to use blockchain along with smart contracts through platforms such as Ethereum or Lisk, mainly given its flexibility and current development on topics with similar functionalities.
During the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era, the block chain was used as a digital record of transactions that is simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network. In order to maintain the healthcare sector in Industrial Revolution 4.0, smart contracts are used to provide those addresses which provide transparent ways to do transactions among entities. In the other hand, the adoption has challenges, such as the adoption curve, the complexity of the business ecosystems and standardization, data privacy, and people expectations in the healthcare industry.
The combination of the Internet of Things (IoT), a type of Cyber Physical Systems (CPS), with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platforms, also known as blockchains, provides an unprecedented opportunity for automating smart contracts that monitor the execution of legal contracts to ensure compliance. The absence of formalization of smart contracts based on recognized legal notions may however result in uncertainty during contract monitoring. The need for formal smart contract specifications, together with refinements and transformations to DLT implementations (code), is undeniable and urgent. This thesis, following a Design Science Research methodology, aims to partially address this need by developing a formal contract specification language called Symboleo, and selecting the suitable target language for generating smart contract code from Symboleo specifications. This thesis contributes a syntax and axiomatic semantics for Symboleo, with concepts rooted in a legal ontology, and supported by an editor. It also provides an analysis of possible target smart contract programming languages. These artifacts are evaluated with a comprehensive example of sales of perishable goods, with positive results.
The perpetual script of a smart contract, that executes an agreement machine-to-machine without prejudice, guarantees performance of ‘contractual terms’ enabling the exchange or transaction of cryptoassets and other forms of property. Yet, smart contracts as recognisable or valid legal instruments within the boundaries of contract or property law remain uncertain and contentious. Contrary to perceptions of contractual streamlining and efficiency, understanding the uncertainty smart contracts produce lies in the technology's failure to meet many of the fundamental principles of contract law and theory concerning, for example, breach of promise and remedy for breach. Smart contracts appear to reduce contracting to a form and standard well below that developed by contract law and theory over many centuries in both civil and common law jurisdictions. Including elements of the law of restitution, this article's remedial analysis will examine smart contracts considering ‘traditional’ contract law to understand and, where possible, test the legal legitimacy of this post-human technology, and explore the potential of smart contracts to supplement or, in time, supersede traditional contract law.
In the paper, the author analyzes the legislation of Germany and Italy, which regulates financial technologies, and highlights the official positions of the state bodies of these countries regarding digitalization and its elements. The trends in the development of legislation in the digital sphere and its prospects are identified. In addition, the German and Italian scientific doctrine is being studied, which, as noted, does not offer a unified approach to financial technologies, in particular to a smart contract, but contains conflicting positions and points of view. Based on the study, it is concluded that there is a need for legislative regulation of financial technologies not only at the national level, but also at the international level. It is emphasized that legislation must find a compromise between public interests, economic needs and technological capabilities in order to make the most effective use of digital technologies in various spheres of public life.
In 2019, in order to create attractive conditions for the development of the Fintech sector in Singapore, the Payment Services Law was adopted, which consolidated the definition of cryptocurrency (digital payment tokens) and the procedure for its circulation. In addition, this Law established the criteria for distinguishing payment tokens from other virtual objects — securities tokens, utility tokens, game currencies. In the paper, the authors analyze the concept of digital payment tokens as a digital representation of value, consider the rules for transactions with them. It is concluded that the use of this approach makes it possible to minimize difficulties in regulating the turnover of, for example, bitcoins. Based on the Singapore experience, recommendations for the modernization of domestic legislation are proposed. The main difficulty seems to be that the use of the digital value representation mode in relation to cryptocurrency is associated with the need to either establish an extraterritorial regime of regulation in relation to cryptocurrency exchanges, or adopt an international agreement in this area.
Blockchain is the emerging technology in the digital era. Blockchain is the extension of distributed concept and not a centralized storage that keeps track of blockchain data. In blockchain the data are stored over millions of computers around the world, and each node in a distributed environment is connected with the blockchain. The data stored in each node are publicly verifiable. Blockchain is defined as a “Non-corruptible digital ledger which can be programmed to record all the financial transactions”. In addition, it is also extended to keep track of the information that has value. Blockchain is considered as a list of blocks where each block contains a number of transactions. It provides a decentralized and immutable data store. Applications of blockchain can be extended to IoT, security, cloud, big data and the data analytics field. Blockchain technology acts as the backbone for Bitcoin. Bitcoin is known as a cryptocurrency, nothing but a form of electronic cash. It is also known as a decentralized digital currency. There is no centralized server or single bank that is responsible for its administration. Digital cash can be transferred from one user to another in a network without the involvement of an intermediary. These transactions are also updated to all participating entities in a network connected with blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 and released as open-source software. In Bitcoin a public ledger records the transactions of Bitcoins. A chain of blocks is implemented, and each block adds the hash value computed from the previous block up to a genesis block of the chain. Bitcoin software runs on all the communicating nodes in a network to maintain the blockchain. Every transaction is validated by the nodes of a network and a copy is added into their ledger, then broadcasted to others. Whenever the new technology emerges, the security of using it becomes doubtful, even though blockchain is designed to be immutable and tamper-proof. It achieves security through decentralization, cryptography and consensus concepts. Truth in blockchain is achieved through decentralization. If you change one block, you have to change all the subsequent blocks until any new blocks could be mined. Hashing techniques are used to hash the data cryptographically in a blockchain. It uses SHA-256 algorithm to produce a fixed-length hash value. Blockchain achieves this through cryptography primitives. Consensus helps to identify which node to add in a network. This part of the process is called proof of work (POW). It helps to ensure that each block is going through with vigorous mathematical processes before it becomes the immutable part of the blockchain. Blockchain is an emerging technology and it evolves every day. The vulnerabilities arise from the way in which how the blockchain interacts with other entities. In this chapter we will learn the importance of security concepts in blockchain. We will also explain how the CIA triad (confidentiality, integrity and authentication) is applied to blockchain in order to secure transactions and stored data.
The article presents a study of blockchain technology from the point of view of legal regulation prospects, as well as the possibility of using one of the areas of this technology application -smart contracts as an analog of contracts in civil circulation, taking into account the legal field of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the article is to form recommendations on the possible development of areas of Russian regulation of blockchain technology and the use of smart contracts. The article analyzes international approaches to the regulation of digital technologies, practices, and features of their application, as well as the proposed legal norms of the Russian bill on the use of digital technologies in civil turnover. The article shows the huge possibilities of using blockchain technology, as well as the possible risks of its use in certain areas. The article examines the opinions of scholars on the prospects for the development of legal regulation of blockchain technology in general, and smart contracts, in particular, in the Russian Federation. It is noted that since regulatory regulation and judicial practice on smart contracts in the Russian Federation has not yet developed, at the moment, participants in smart contracts cannot exercise the right to protection. It is indicated that the regulation of smart contracts does not require a separate regulatory design, so with the existing technical innovations, they are subject to classical contract law, which has formed a complete theory of transactions, which can be applied to cases of using smart contracts. In connection with this conclusion, the authors give recommendations on making amendments to the current civil and emerging digital legislation.
Modern international hydrocarbons turnover is becoming more autonomous and decentralized. This process is facilitated not only by the introduction into contractual practice of such network technologies as smart contracts and blockchain platforms, but also by the wide dissemination of sources of non-governmental regulation (lex petrolea). In the context of the network paradigm of private international law, the classic problem of conflict of laws is exacerbated. The author considers the conflict-of-laws aspects of the use of smart contracts based on blockchain technology in cross-border oil and gas transactions, taking into account the fact that the use of computer algorithms does not create a new contract, but is only a special form of transaction. Such “automated” transactions in the oil and gas sector involving multiple jurisdictions create uncertainty in their legal regime. In the absence of a comprehensive substantive legal regulation, and in connection with the phenomenon of lex petrolea, the conflict-of-laws method of regulation predominates. The author shares his reasoning concerning the possibility of extending the application of Regulation No. 593/2008 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union “On the Law to be Applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I)” to smart contracts. The author concludes that existing regulation is quite applicable to smart contracts in cross-border oil and gas transactions. Another question is whether the law, which is applicable by virtue of a conflict-of-laws rule, provides for an appropriate substantive basis. To date, special legislation on smart contracts has been passed in only several American states. It is predicted that in the future, private international law will not only determine the law applicable to smart contracts, but will also be a guide to disseminating the positive experience of legal regulation of smart contracts in different countries.
Recently, the legislation on cryptocurrencies has been rapidly developing both in foreign countries and in the Russian Federation. The paper analyses trends and prospects of legal regulation of cryptocurrency emission and allocation, represents various approaches to this issue in the international arena. The author provides us with a thorough analysis of recent trends in the development of legislation on the emission and allocation of cryptocurrencies in the world, substantiates the theses that states are constantly seeking to settle the digital realm. By defining the legal nature of cryptocurrencies and referring them to a particular object of legal regulation, the state streamlines and systematizes the rules that will be applied to mining and ICO. Whether the market is interested in such regulation is a philosophical question, but the state as a sovereign cannot afford to recognize (the lack of regulation should be treated as a tacit recognition in this case) the existence of cryptocurrency as an alternative to the national payment unit.
The paper carries out a legal analysis of three models of settlements by letters of credit with the use of distributed ledger technology. First, this refers to the model of settlements that uses blockchain as a way of transferring documents under the letter of credit. Second, the author investigates the model of settlements where two smart contracts are used. In the author’s view, such smart contracts should be seen as a way of executing the contracts that, in practice, form the settlement procedure with the use of letters of credit. Third, the most interesting is the settlement model where the payer and the recipient of funds (payee) enter into one smart contract that provides non-cash settlements between them with the use of the P2P service. There is no financial intermediary that organizes non-cash settlements in this settlement model. This difference makes it possible to conclude that settlements similar to settlements with the use of letters by credit via blockchain technology and carried out on the principle of P2P, should be considered as a new form of non-cash settlements. The peculiarity of this form of non-cash settlements is the opportunity given to direct participants of the settlement to fulfil their monetary obligations without using cash and without any assistance of financial intermediaries.
In the context of digitalization, the issues of determining the legal regulation of matters related to theuse of cryptocurrencies are naturally becoming increasingly relevant. The qualification of cryptocurrencyas an object of civil rights is one of the most important aspects of the legal regime of cryptocurrency. Theneed for high-quality development and registration of the legal regime of cryptocurrency, incorporationof this phenomenon into the legal system of the Russian Federation requires a detailed study of theissues of determining the place of cryptocurrency in the system of civil rights, attributing legal signs ofproperty or property rights to it, or, conversely, postulating and consolidating its fundamental identityand individuality. Analysis of the latest legal initiatives leads us to conclude that the legal regulation isinconsistent and ambiguous. Meanwhile, the courts repeatedly faced the proceedings and resolutions ofissues of cryptocurrency circulation, in particular in contractual disputes and bankruptcy disputes, whichpredetermined a certain judicial community approach to the concept of cryptocurrency and it’s qualificationsas an independent object of civil rights
Abstract Today we are witnesses an explosion of online business, developed on the internet – a special environment that requires own resources and tools and it is governed by specific rules. In this context, a new type of technology has been developed – the distributed ledger system, which allowed the creation of a new form of the agreement - the smart contracts. Smart contract is the next step forward in the process of digitalized contracts, after using the PDF documents with electronic signatures, and it favors the businesses to be carried out completely automatically, without the need for human intervention, and to gain greater efficiency and reduction in costs. This paper will try to provide the answers to several questions, such as: what is a smart contract?; how smart contract will be used?; how smart contract will be enforced?; etc. Moreover, it will be emphasized the advantages of smart contract and the new developments such as “Ricardian” contracts representing more efficient and transparent agreements that can be drafted and enforced on platform. Most important issue of this paper consists in analysis of legal framework of smart contracts using the basic principles of contract law combined with blockchain regulations, taking into account changing the paradigm from “code is law” to “law is code”.