On the legal nature of a smart contract

Shaydullina V.

The article discusses the features and place of smart contracts in the contract law of the Russian Federation. The definition of smart contracts is given and the principle of their operation is described. Thе aim оf the studу is tо determinе whаt place within the framework of traditional legal structures takes a smart contract. For this, the process of concluding, amending, executing and terminating a smart contract will be analyzed. The issues of applying liability and protection measures to obligations arising from a smart contract will also be considered. For a better understanding of the features of a smart contract, foreign experience will be considered. Because of the study, it was concluded that a smart contract changes not so much the method of concluding an agreement as the way of fulfilling obligations. Therefore, a smart contract can be considered as a contract in the form of a program code or as separate contractual terms containing a provision on the automated fulfillment of obligations. Such obligations as coercion to fulfill obligations in kind, bilateral restitution, non-contractual measures of liability may be applied to obligations under a smart contract.

Keywords:contract law, smart contract, classification of contracts, contract, automated fulfillment of obligations, fulfillment of obligations.