scholarly journals The Legal Nature of Smart Contracts

Law and World ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 165-175

The article discusses about the smart contract, its concept and legal nature, as well as the place of smart contracts in the Technology Law, which means a discussion on the important issues covered by this topic. At the same time, smart contracts are com- pared to the usual standard contract, where their pros and cons are discussed. The importance and necessity of both types of contracts in relation to the current reality will also be discussed. At the same time, the article discusses about the revolutions – from where they begin and how long the world has passed before today's reality, why blockchain is considered as the fourth-generation revolution and how important it is to develop and implement it. The article also discusses about the types of contracts, which means how a standard contract can be divided, in the other words, we talk about consensual and real contracts. The definitions of each of them and their need related to the smart contracts are analyzed in the article. Therefore, we use the relevant chapters and articles of civil law to be able to explain what is meant and to what extent it is possible to follow the same norms in the case of the smart contract.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergana Varbanova ◽  

Are the technologies advanced enough to replace lawyers and the judiciary in the negotiation and enforcement process? Is it possible for a program code to be a contract that binds the parties named in it? What is a smart contract and what challenges does it pose to the law? The present study aims to clarify and show the advantages and disadvantages of using smart contracts in civil law.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Loska

A LEGACY IN THE ROMAN LAWSummary A notion of a legacy did not exist in the archaic Roman law as a homogenous concept of law and it developed as late as in the pre-classical Roman law. Even then, however, only particular types of legacies, rather than their general concept, were defined. Nevertheless, one may say that a legacy was a civil law instrument by means of which a testator left a certain economic benefit to a particular person, not making him\her an inheritor.At the beginning there were four basic types of legacy in the Roman law: legatum per vindicationem, legatum per praeceptionem, legatum per damnationem and legatum sinendi modo. The first two types had an effect of a disposition while the two latter ones of an obligation only. In sources there also exist two other types: legatum optionis and legatum partitionis. This last mentioned is similar to a later established concept of a fideicommissum, an informal legacy, which became actionable in the times of the Emperor August.Already in the ancient times one may observe a decrease in the significance of these types of legacy, the effects of which directly related to the ownership of objects (legatum per vindicationem and legatum per praeceptioneni).They were connected with the notion o f an ownership according to ius civile and formal means of transferring the ownership. They lost its significance when - beside the oldest civil law - praetorian law and emperors’ constitutions appeared and when the ownership was standardised. After the issuance of senatusconsultum Neronianum in the 1st century AD it became possible to retain the legal effectiveness of the legacies which until then were considered invalid due to a failure to preserve an appropriate form; an ex /^ con version took place. It resulted most probably in converting invalid legacies into legatum per damnationem.In the subsequent centuries, emperors’ constitutions led to a harmonisation o f the concept of legacy (while the division between the legacy having an effect of a disposition and an obligation was still preserved), and later on to equalisation in the legal effect of formal and informal legacies. The most important regulations were: the constitution of the Emperor Constantinus dated 339 AD, which abolished the requirement of solemnitas verbum and two constitutions of the Emperor Iustinianus - the first - dated 529 AD - introduced an identical legal nature of all legacies, the other - dated 531 AD - completely equalised legacies with fideicommissa. 


2019 ◽  
pp. 311-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Brownsword

The main purpose of this chapter is to sketch two principal ways in which lawyers are likely to engage with new transactional technologies (such as smart contract applications of blockchain technologies), each form of engagement being characterized by its own questions and conversations. Whereas one form of engagement, ‘coherentism’, focuses on the fit between particular new technologies and the covering law of contract, the other, ‘regulatory-instrumentalism’, focuses on whether the law (relative to particular new technologies) is fit for regulatory purpose. The sketch is refined by drawing further distinctions between ‘transactionalist’ and ‘relationalist’ variants of ‘coherentism’ and ‘rule-based’ and ‘technocratic’ variants of regulatory-instrumentalism. With a view to decoding legal debates about emerging transactional technologies, this sketch is then applied to questions concerning smart contracts in, respectively, business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and peer-to-peer transactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Lukas Banu ◽  
Matthew Gardiner

The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme has attracted overseas workers to work in the horticulture and viticulture industries in New Zealand. They come from various countries all over the world, to stay and work in New Zealand. This article would explore some legal issues arise from New Zealand’s RSE policy in particular relation with the Indonesian migrant workers who seek a job in New Zealand. It would also analyze the rights and obligations of the workers as stipulated in the employment contract concluded by the Indonesian workers and the New Zealand companies under the RSE scheme. The normative legal writing combines the research on relevant public and private legal instruments and comparatively examines both national law and regulations of Indonesia and New Zealand in order to afford a balanced insight of the law of both countries. This study found that on one hand, New Zealand laws have already covered all aspects of workers and determined New Zealand’s government obligation to oversee the employment agreements, while on the other hand, Indonesian law and regulation do not cover explicitly the issue of protection of Indonesian workers who work in New Zealand under the RSE scheme. This article offers constructive recommendations addressed to any relevant stakeholders in order to improve the legal nature, institutional role and procedure for supporting New Zealand’s RSE policy and in the same time the better protection to the Indonesian migrant workers.


Author(s):  
K. Nekit

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.


Legal Concept ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 54-60
Author(s):  
Nizami Safarli

Introduction: the paper is devoted to a new phenomenon in business activity in the conditions of IT development that contribute to the creation of secure contractual relations on the Internet on the basis of transactions executed through smart contracts. The author notes that the need for amendments that could fill the loopholes in the current legislation is obvious. And, first of all, it concerns Blockchain technology – the algorithm that mediates the safe development, conclusion and execution of smart contracts. Blockchain technology is considered in the paper as one of the safest means for concluding and executing smart contracts. The author argues that the study of the concept, legal nature and essence of smart contracts is relevant in the light of spreading their share in the total array of transactions in the world economy in conjunction with the changing domestic legislation governing the relevant sphere, as well as the international integration processes affecting the intensification of foreign economic activity of the Russian Federation. The smart contract concepts formulated by the Russian legislator in the process of upgrading the array of statutory regulation under conditions of economy digitalization are studied and compared. The features of conclusion and protection of the smart contract in the civil legislation of the Russian Federation are analyzed. In order to fully articulate the concept of the smart contract, reflecting its essence, functional purpose and legal nature, it is proposed to create a special law that would focus on the conclusion and implementation of “the smart contract” and the specification of the general norms of the civil code. At the same time, the norms of other special laws would supplement and correct the provisions fixed by this act depending on the sphere of managing and the legal regulation branch. The concept of the smart contract is formulated; its value for economic and contractual activity, and also the advantages and disadvantages of its application are established. The possible classifications of smart contracts are given.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haya R. Hasan ◽  
Khaled Salah ◽  
Raja Jayaraman ◽  
Junaid Arshad ◽  
Ibrar Yaqoob ◽  
...  

COVID-19 has emerged as a highly contagious disease which has caused a devastating impact across the world with a very large number of infections and deaths. Timely and accurate testing is paramount to an effective response to this pandemic as it helps identify infections and therefore mitigate (isolate/cure) them. In this paper, we investigate this challenge and contribute by presenting a blockchain-based solution that incorporates self-sovereign identity, re-encryption proxies, and decentralized storage, such as the interplanetary file systems (IPFS). Our solution implements digital medical passports (DMP) and immunity certificates for COVID-19 test-takers. We present smart contracts based on the Ethereum blockchain written and tested successfully to maintain a digital medical identity for test-takers that help in a prompt trusted response directly by the relevant medical authorities. We reduce the response time of the medical facilities, alleviate the spread of false information by using immutable trusted blockchain, and curb the spread of the disease through DMP. We present a detailed description of the system design, development, and evaluation (cost and security analysis) for the proposed solution. Since our code leverages the use of the on-chain events, the cost of our design is almost negligible. We have made our smart contract codes publicly available on Github.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Raluca Onufreiciuc ◽  
Lorena-Elena Stănescu

The research aims to organize, examine, and analyze the provisions on smart contracts available in Romanian civil law. “Smart contracts” are not smart, and are not necessarily contracts, although they can be. As self-executing computer programs, smart contracts are operational on the blockchain and unlike traditional legal contracts, once the agreement has been concluded and the smart contract is set in motion, no party can intervene and it will be executed without interruption, modification, or breach. The crucial question in the final contract law topic is what happens when the smart contract's outcomes deviate from those required by law. To answer this issue, we must first understand that whether a smart contract becomes legally enforceable is determined by several circumstances, together with the unique use case, the type of smart contract employed, and the existing legislation. The paper addresses the subject of determining and regulating smart contracts under Romanian current laws. Particular emphasis is placed on two ambiguous definitions of smart contracts: as computer code and as a civil-law contract. The authors conclude that the concept of smart contracts requires more legal regulation, particularly in terms of managing their meaning and comprehension.


Author(s):  
Bella Munita Sary ◽  
Masayu Fatiyah Nuraziimah ◽  
Nurhasanah Walijah

The rapid development of technology has had a massive impact in the use of new media in various parts of the world. Its goal is to help for  making it easier for people to live their daily lives. One of the new media that has recently become a favorite of the public, especially in Indonesia is a  podcast. In Indonesia, a Youtube podcast channel "Jeda Nulis" owned by Habib Husein Ja'far Al Hadar or Habib Ja'far is a new favorite among young adults. Habib Ja'far not only uses Youtube for its Jeda Nulis podcast, but also Spotify. This study aims to analyze the Jeda Nulis podcast and observes people’s responses to the Islamic da'wah strategy introduced by Habib Ja’far. The method used in this research is a literature review that includes the process of listening to and analyzing podcasts in "Jeda Nulis" YouTube channel as preaching media. The results of this study show that there are pros and cons to this podcast. The pro commentary has liked this podcast because of the way the preaching was delivered by Habib Husein Ja'far as well. On the other hand, there are also people who are uncomfortable with the podcast "Jeda Nulis” in accordance with the content and  many people who feel that they are inferior to him.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrius Jaržemskis ◽  
Vytautas Jaržemskis

Abstract In the world railways are organized in two ways. In one case, infrastructure management and organization of traffic and commercial activities are integrated at the level of one of the enterprise whereas in the other case the functions of the carrier and the manager of the infrastructure are separated. This article addresses approaches of different scientists and politicians on both forms. The analysis of the case of Lithuania has been carried out. The case of Lithuania is a typical one - historically the railways have had a monopoly with the infrastructure and transportation not separated. This article presents a critical view of theoretical pros and cons of both the models.


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