Regulation of the Smart Contract in (Romanian) Civil Law

Raluca Onufreiciuc () and Lorena-Elena Stănescu ()
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Raluca Onufreiciuc: Lawyer, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bucharest and the University of A Coruna, Bucharest/A Coruna, Romania/Spain, teaching assistant Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, †Ştefan cel Mare†the University of Suceava
Lorena-Elena Stănescu: Ph.D. Lawyer

European Journal of Law and Public Administration, 2021, vol. 8, issue 2, 95-111

Abstract: The research aims to organize, examine, and analyze the provisions on smart contracts available in Romanian civil law. “Smart contracts†are not smart, and are not necessarily contracts, although they can be. As self-executing computer programs, smart contracts are operational on the blockchain and unlike traditional legal contracts, once the agreement has been concluded and the smart contract is set in motion, no party can intervene and it will be executed without interruption, modification, or breach. The crucial question in the final contract law topic is what happens when the smart contract's outcomes deviate from those required by law. To answer this issue, we must first understand that whether a smart contract becomes legally enforceable is determined by several circumstances, together with the unique use case, the type of smart contract employed, and the existing legislation. The paper addresses the subject of determining and regulating smart contracts under Romanian current laws. Particular emphasis is placed on two ambiguous definitions of smart contracts: as computer code and as a civil-law contract. The authors conclude that the concept of smart contracts requires more legal regulation, particularly in terms of managing their meaning and comprehension.

Keywords: smart contract; civil law; traditional contracts; blockchain; Ethereum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K10 K12 K15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lum:ejlpa1:v:8:y:2021:i:2:p:95-111

DOI: 10.18662/eljpa/8.2/164

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