The Legal Nature Of Smart Contracts

Abstract

This paper aims to define, at a conceptual level, the phenomenon of smart contracts from the theoretical framework of Hart (1983; 1994) in relation to the meaning of legal concepts to verify their subjection to contractual legal rules. It uses a deductive method and bibliographic research technique to build the internal logic and carry out the conceptual development of smart contracts. Considering the advancement of the use of blockchain technology, the relevance of this analysis lies in the fact that the terminological delimitation serves to justify or verify its subordination to specific legal norms and, therefore, its capacity to disrupt these legal norms, allowing for lege lata deconstruction and lege ferenda reconstruction in line with the functions and disruptions resulting from the innovation. The study concludes that a smart contract is functionally similar to a contract, and therefore should be considered a type of contract for the purpose of subjection to contractual rules. Additionally, the conclusion indicates that it is important for the contractual legal system to consider this new type of contract in the legislative development and evolution.