Computable Contracts

What is the problem?

What is a contract?A legal technology to create private

obligations enforceable by law.

The value of a contract stems largely from the incremental incentive effect of this legal enforcement -> damages and/or

performance.

In the beginning...

only one contract ...

Today trillions

Past innovation

Recent developments

Computable contracts

New legal world

Internet of Contracts

We need new tools

How does it work?

with impact

Key issues● Use of natural language and the

current state of NLP● Discrete and abstract terms like

“reasonable” or “best effort”● Legal uncertainty on both the law and

the facts

Research domains • Semantics• Norms• Organizations• Negotiation• Trust

Project SCCI

The rules of the game

init: contract.storage[OWNER] = msg.sender code:

cmd = msg.data[0]state = contract.storage[NDA_STATE]

# Owner initializes NDA contractif state == NDA_STATE_NEW and cmd == "new" and msg.sender == contract.storage[OWNER]:

contract.storage[COUNTERPARTY] = msg.data[1] contract.storage[NDA_HASH] = msg.data[2] contract.storage[NDA_VERSION] = msg.data[3] contract.storage[NDA_CREATION_TIMESTAMP] = block.timestamp contract.storage[ARBITRATOR] = msg.data[4] contract.storage[MAX_DAMAGES] = msg.data[5] contract.storage[NDA_STATE] = NDA_STATE_PENDING return(1)

# Counterparty accepts the NDA by specifying the NDA hashelif state == NDA_STATE_PENDING and cmd == "accept" and msg.sender ==

contract.storage[COUNTERPARTY]:

Contract Definition Language

Automated reasoning

Some challenges

Verification of facts

Cyber security

Legal language

Rules vs Standards

“Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the

solution”

Clay Shirky (IT visionair)