Smart Contracts

Smart Contracts and the Role of Law

Gabriel Jaccard

Citation: Gabriel Jaccard, Smart Contracts and the Role of Law, in: Jusletter IT 23 November 2017

The paper gives an overview on smart contracts and assesses their legal relevance. The first part explains the notion of smart contract and provides simple examples of them. In the second part, the author proposes a legal analysis of smart contract. He first explores how smart contracts can be relevant in the eyes of the law and then differentiates and assesses smart contract with regards to their types. Finally, he looks at chosen problematic of smart legal contracts.

Table of contents

I. Introduction
II. Technical Aspects
- 1. Did You Say Contract?
- 2. Examples
- 3. Functioning of Smart Contracts
- 4. Blockchain & Smart Contracts
  - 4.1. Blockchain
  - 4.2. Blockchain’s Effects on Smart Contracts
III. Legal Analysis
- 1. The Legal Relevancy of Smart Contracts
  - 1.1. Legal Theory
  - 1.2. Does the Law Apply ?
- 2. Data, Smart Contracts & Property Law
  - 2.1. Overview
  - 2.2. An Opinion
- 3. Case-by-case Approach
  - 3.1. Smart Contract Representing Data and other Kind of Data in General
    - 3.1.1. Data without Legal Impact
    - 3.1.2. Data Protected by Law
    - 3.1.3. Data Representing a Virtual Property or a Digital Property / Commodity
      - i) Virtual Property
      - a) General
      - b) Legal Consequences
    - ii) Digital Property & Commodity
    - a) General
    - b) Legal Consequences
3.2. Smart Contract Representing a Legal Contract (or Smart Legal Contracts)
3.3. Smart Contract Representing Property
- 3.3.1. A Title?
- 3.3.2. Representing an Immovable
- 3.3.3. Representing a Movable
- 3.3.4. Legal Consequences
3.4. Smart Contract Representing Rights

4. Applicable Law & Jurisdiction

5. Smart Legal Contracts

5.1. Nominate and Innominate Contracts
- 5.1.1. Foreword
- 5.1.2. General Legal Requirements
- 5.1.3. Parties
- 5.1.4. Consent, Exchange of Will and Concordance
- 5.1.5. Formal Requirements
- 5.1.6. Object
5.3. Corporation