К цивилистической теории смарт-контрактов

Закон. 2022. № 3. С. 149–172.

Tsepov G., Ivanov N.

The article examines the issue of the place of smart contracts in the legal systematization. The main difference between a smart contract and traditional civil law contracts is seen in the fact that its conclusion occurs in electronic form within information system, while its essential terms determine the automatic transfer of property rights. Despite the fact that the terms of the smart contract must include commands and data necessary for its automatic execution, the language of the applicable law should be the primary language of the smart contract. The contract cannot be self-executing, it’s an illusion. For the conclusion and execution of smart contracts it is necessary not only to express the mutual will of its parties, but also the participation of the operator of the information system, as well as the existence of the rules of the information system. In a decentralized system the operator's functions are performed by the users of the system, united in the civil law community. As a general rule, software manufacturers should bear property liability for poor-quality work of software products used in the conclusion and execution of automatically executed contracts.

Keywords: информационная система, программа для ЭВМ, smart contract, Смарт-контракт, information system, computer program, automatic execution of obligation, liability for software defects, автоматическое исполнение обязательства, ответственность за недостатки программного обеспечения