smart contracts

E-commerce using blockchain technologies

Introduction. The article analyzes the practice of using blockchain technologies for commercial activities in the Russian Federation. Currently, in the Russian Federation, two main directions of such commerce can be distinguished: conclusion and execution of smart contracts; implementation of transactions with cryptocurrencies. Theoretical analysis. Nowadays, the Russian legislation hardly regulates the conclusion of smart contracts. However, this does not prevent entrepreneurs from using some general provisions of the Civil Code in their practical activities. As for cryptocurrencies (digital currencies), they are not currencies in the literal sense and the number of transactions with them is significantly limited by the legislator. Empirical analysis. Gaps in domestic legislation are currently being filled to some extent by court practice, primarily arbitration. In particular, the courts clearly qualify the cryptocurrency mining activity as entrepreneurial. As for investing financial resources in cryptocurrencies, it is regarded as a form of fiduciary management. Results. At this stage, it is necessary to recognise digital currencies as assets not only for certain purposes, but for a wider range of relationships. As far as smart contracts are concerned, an important problem is the problem of understanding its meaning and content by all its parties. To solve this problem, it is necessary to introduce a rule in the national civil legislation according to which a smart contract should have a text with all its terms in Russian (or in any other language acceptable to both parties).

Transformation of Law under the Influence of Digital Technologies: New Requirements to Training of Lawyers

Introduction. The article looks at how development of technologies is influencing and might influence the processes of law enforcement and law-making in the future and what changes in legal training it will require. Theoretical analysis. Nowadays, the use of modern digital technologies in the sphere of public management involves emergence of a number of the problems connected with inflexibility of machine regulation and inevitable mistakes in functioning of these technologies. At the same time, from the legal point of view there is a gap between regulations and technologies which mediate their application. The authors assume that in the long term this gap can be and has to be overcome, which will entail transition to a technological method of legal regulation. It, in turn, will require essentially new competences from lawyers. Empirical analysis. On the way of transition to a technological method of regulation it is necessary to pass several important stages of transformation of law: 1. Recognition by the state (states) of cryptocurrencies and/or other values, possession of which is confirmed only by records in a blockchain, development of the precepts of law regulating their address; 2. Full integration (or reflection) of the processes in the real world with data in information systems; 3. Transformation of regulations in an electronic form, giving them the properties of self-feasibility. Results. The authors make the conclusion about potential transition of both law-making, and law realization mainly to an electronic form, which, in particular, will require development of the legal focused programming language for recording precepts of law. It, in turn, will objectively lead to the fact that knowledge of information technologies, their legal regulation and fundamentals of programming of legal documents will become necessary competences for graduates of legal majors and specialties.