Digital Ruble: The Problems of Determining the Legal Regime

Introduction: the presented paper deals with the issues of legal assessment of the digital ruble as an object of civil rights. In Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, this means of payment is defined as a type of non-cash funds, which raises a number of doubts, given both its legal regulation and the objectification of the digital ruble in the virtual space. This currency is a unique digital code stored on a platform administered by the Bank of Russia, while non-cash money is an abstract concept that exists solely by virtue of the legal norms. According to the author of the paper, these significant differences require reflection in the legislation, the changes in existing legal norms, and the revision of the legal regime of the digital ruble. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to develop systematic approaches to the regulation of the digital ruble in the Russian legislation. Methods: the methodological framework for the study consists of the dialectical, analytical and comparative law methods. Results: the author’s position reflected in the paper is based on the scientific doctrine and the provisions of the legislation on the legal regime of means of payment in the Russian Federation. Based on the legal analysis of the norms of the current legislation, some proposals have been formulated to improve the statutory regulation of the digital ruble, as well as non-cash funds. Conclusions: based on the results of the study, it is proposed to state Article 128 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in the following wording: “The objects of civil rights are things (including cash money and documentary securities), other property, among them the digital ruble and property rights (including non-cash funds, non-documentary securities, digital rights); the results of work and provision of services; the protected results of intellectual activity and means of individualization equated to them (intellectual property); intangible benefits.” In addition, when regulating non-cash funds, it is proposed to take into account their characteristics such as abstraction and the possibility of issuing by private organizations.