The Digitalization of Contracts in International Trade and Finance: Comparative Law Perspectives on Smart Contracts

The chapter examines the case of digitalisation of commercial transactions by considering, specifically, the case of smart contracts. Notwithstanding the vast amount of literature on blockchains, the legal framework remains uncertain, particularly, in relation to the legal meaning of smart contracts. Thus, the chapter contains a legal analysis of this phenomenon. It analyses the legal framework for smart contracts by considering European private international law and employing a comparative law approach. It also questions the role of technology and industry self-regulation to develop smart contract models and standardise them. For example, the latter approach is central in the case of smart Incoterms® rules and smart derivative contracts. To deal with these issues, section “Smart Contracts: Main Characteristics and Applications” introduces the main economic applications of smart contracts and their relationship with blockchain technology. Section “Smart Contracts: EU Private International Law” deals with smart contracts according to European private international law. Section “Smart Contracts: Comparative Perspectives” contains a comparative analysis of common law and civil law approaches to the legal meaning of smart contracts Technology” examines the role of programmers and industries in self- regulating and standardising smart contracts. Section “Conclusions” contains our preliminary conclusions.