Смартдоговорът като правно понятие
The Smart Contract as a Legal Concept

Summary/Abstract: The smart contract is an example of the possibilities, provided by technology and the virtual environment. Its characteristics raise anew the questions whether law is necessary as a regulator of relations in this new environment and whether it has the necessary means to play such a part. Before an answer can be formulated, as a first step in this article the notion for smart contract must be clarifi ed. It will be argued that the concept should be technologically neutral in order to preserve its theoretical and practical signifi canceregardless of the course of technological progress. The next step is to clarify that considering the formulated definition, the smart contract is applicable for relations regulated by private law, as well as the potential to be utilized in a wider context. This potential can be realized only when explicit legislation exists. There is such legislation at this time, hence smart contracts fall into the scope of application of general rules of private law insofar they are related to economic operations and transfer of assets. The final part of the article is dedicated to the specifics of the smart contract, which are highlighted even in their current limited interaction with law. If the smart contract implies exchange of goods, then a question arises concerning the correlation between the actual will and the will expressed in software code. Besides, the smart contract always performs its function when certain circumstances have occurred, which requires an answer to the question how occurrence of these circumstances should be established.

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