Comparative Analysis of the Legal Regulation of Smart Contracts in the Russian Federation and Foreign Legal Orders

Purpose of research. The article examines the current state of domestic legal regulation of such a new digital phenomenon as a «smart contract»; general remarks are given, reflecting the features of this technical and legal phenomenon (terminological specificity, programming language, mediation by blockchain technology); analyzes the legal regulation of smart contracts in foreign legal order; the assessment of foreign experience in the legal regulation of smart contracts, formulated by domestic legal scholars, is given. The aim of the study is a comparative analysis of the legal regulation of smart contracts in the Russian Federation and foreign legal orders, which, in turn, is necessary for a futuristic forecast of the development of domestic legislation in the area under study. Conclusions. The study resulted in the following original conclusions: on the qualification of smart contracts as an element of the digital implementation of law, which is a part of virtual legal reality; on two foreign approaches to the legal regulation of smart contracts: countries that have specially statutory a smart contract, and countries that adapt the current norms of civil legislation under a smart contract; about two main concepts that determine the legal nature of a smart contract: first, through the prism of its identification with a classic contract; the second - through the prism of understanding it as a computer code; about the peculiarities of foreign positiveness of a smart contract through the presumption of legal force behind transactions that are concluded using blockchain technology; on the legalization of a smart contract through the regulation on the electronic form of the transaction.

blockchain, digital economy, civil law