Legal Prerequisites for the Use of Smart Contracts

The term “smart contract” has become quite widespread. It is used not only in scientific literature, but also in normative acts and in practice when concluding contracts. However, there is no single approach to the definition of this concept. The purpose of the study is to highlight the main problems that exist in modern approaches to the definition of smart contracts. To achieve this goal, the article considers the main approaches to the interpretation of the term “smart contract”. This part of the article concludes that a smart contract involves the use of a digital document rather than an electronic document, whichhas now gained some momentum of development. Discussing what lies at the heart of a smart contract, the authors consider the correlation between the concepts of “electronic document” and “digital document”. Methods: in conducting the research the general scientific (analysis, synthesis, description), as well as interdisciplinary approach) and private-scientific methods of cognition, including the interdisciplinary one, and economic analyze of law were used. Results: the article presents a new approach to the consideration of the essential content of smart contracts. As the main conclusion it is necessary to point out the position that the smart-contract is based on the typification of contractual terms. In this connection the possible problems of registration of contractual relations in the form of smart-contracts are highlighted, namely: the need to develop model conditions of various contractual forms and their unification at the international level.