The Timing of Smart Contract Formation from the Perspective of Iranian, English, and American Law

Document Type : Academicm and Research

Authors

1 Judge, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (The Hague); Adjunct Professor of Law at Shahid Beheshti University.

2 PhD student in Private law, Faculty of law, Shahid Beheshti University .

10.22091/csiw.2023.8382.2295

Abstract

In order to determine the timing of smart contract formation, which is considered a type of electronic contract, the authors initially examine the viewpoint of traditional contract law. In England and the United States, the doctrine of receipt of acceptance is accepted for instantaneous transactions, while the doctrine of dispatch of acceptance is applied to non-instantaneous contracts to determine the timing of contract formation. In Iran, a unified approach has not been adopted by legal scholars, and the authors advocate for the acceptance of the doctrine of declaration of acceptance. However, regarding the timing of electronic contract formation, the legal systems of England and the United States consider the time of sending the data message as the moment of contract formation, while the Iranian legal system, we claim, relies on the time of signing the acceptance letter as the criterion for contract formation. Various assumptions can be conceived regarding the timing of smart contract formation, and the authors argue that legal systems adhering to the theory of receipt of acceptance should rely on "receipt of the message containing acceptance of the smart contract," while legal systems favoring the theory of dispatch of acceptance should consider the "time of signing the contract with a private key by the acceptor" as the criterion for determining the timing of smart contract formation.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Persian Sources
Abhari Aliabad, H. (1381 SH). The Timing and Place of Contract Formation. (Doctoral Dissertation in Private Law). University of Tehran, Tehran.
Alsan, M. (1384 SH). Formation of Electronic Contracts. Journal of Commerce, (36)(9).
Jafari Langroudi, M. J. (1354 SH). Law of Obligations. (Vol. 1, Part 1). Qom, Academy of Judicial and Administrative Sciences.
Rajabi, A. (1397 SH). Distributed Ledger Technology Beyond Blockchain. Deputy of Foundational Research and Production Affairs, Tehran.
Shahidi, M. (1390 SH). Civil Law. (Vol. 8, Part 1). Tehran: Moj.
Safa'i, S. H. (1382 SH). Preliminary Course in Civil Law: Obligations and Contracts. (Vol. 2). Tehran: Mizan Publication.
Feizi Chekab, G. N. (1383 SH). Timing of Contract Formation through Electronic Intermediaries (Harmonization of Iranian Electronic Commerce Law with the Rules Governing International Trade). Journal of Public Law Research, (6)(13).
Ghasemi Hamed, A. (1386 SH). Civil Law: Essential Conditions for Contract Formation. (Vol. 2). Tehran, Deraak Publication.
Ghorbanvand, M. B. (1389 SH). Timing and Place of Electronic Contract Formation. Journal of Public Law Research, (29)(12).
Ghanavati, J. (1383 SH). Comparative Study of Offer and Acceptance. (Vol. 1). Qom: Boustan Ketab Institute.
Katuzian, N. (1387 SH). Civil Law: General Rules of Contracts. (Vol. 5, Part 5). Tehran: Sahami Enteshar Publishing.
Katuzian. (1385 SH). Civil Law: General Rules of Contracts. (7th ed., Vol. 7, Part 1). Tehran: Sahami Enteshar Publishing.
 
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics