The growth of usage of blockchain based smart contracts in Italy might be boosted by a new law which deemed them equal to written documents in some cases.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Investopedia<\/a>, smart contracts are<\/p>\n \u201cSmart contracts are\u00a0self-executing contracts<\/strong>\u00a0with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code.\u00a0The code and the agreements contained therein exist across a distributed, decentralized\u00a0blockchain\u00a0network<\/strong>. Smart contracts permit trusted transactions and agreements to be carried out among disparate, anonymous parties without the need for a central authority, legal system, or external enforcement mechanism. They render transactions traceable, transparent, and irreversible.<\/em>\u201c.<\/p>\n Therefore, the main features of smart contracts are that:<\/p>\n They are called \u201csmart\u201d, but actually are no meant to be used to complex contracts.<\/p>\n As part of the so called Simplification Decree, it has now been introduced a definition of blockchain and smart contracts, also providing that<\/p>\n \u201cSmart contracts\u00a0satisfy the requirement of the written form<\/strong>\u00a0after the electronic identification of the interested parties, through a process having\u00a0the requirements set by the\u00a0Agency for Digital Italy<\/a>\u00a0with guidelines to be adopted within ninety days<\/strong>\u00a0from the date of entry into force of the law converting the present decree.<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n The consequence of the above is that<\/p>\n Once it will be possible to rely on the above provisions, it might be a major improvement in a country where one-sided clauses in any type of agreement still require the so called \u201csecond written signature<\/em>\u201d which gives rise to major issues for instance in relation to online contracts, but is relevant in any type of agreement.<\/p>\n Courts are trying to adopt a more open minded approach on the topic, but the above provision might represent a major improvement if supported by courts.<\/p>\n I will keep you posted on the development of the matter.<\/p>\n\n
The Italian law on blochchain based smart contracts<\/h2>\n
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