Research for Reforms on Blockchain Smart Contract Laws Begins in UK

The UK Law Commission, an independent body, set up by British Parliament, announced on Thursday that it is investigating reforms into Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term-based smart contracts, with the aim to bring legal clarity.

According to the statement, the independent agency conducted some initial research into the laws surrounding smart contracts and found that a more thorough project was needed. It aims to ensure that the law is flexible enough to apply in a global digital context and to identify any areas that need to be improved.

A smart contract is a computer protocol intended to digitally allow for the application of a transaction by verifying, and enforcing the negotiation or performance of a contract. Through smart contracts, credible transactions can be implemented without the need for a third party.

Making the UK attractive for enterprises

According to the report, the Law Commission sees the value in smart contracts and believes they have the advantage of increasing "trust and certainty" and can boost transaction efficiency among businesses. Therefore, the agency believes that UK laws should be relevant to the current ecosystem and make Britain attractive for enterprises.

In the working paper, it states: "It is important to ensure that English courts and law remain a competitive choice for business. Therefore, there is a compelling case for a Law Commission scoping study to review the current English legal framework as it applies to smart contracts."

The working paper follows on from a report which was published by the commission at the end of last year. In the report, it highlighted the use of smart contracts as one of the 14 areas that are set to have its laws reformed after feedback from the public is received.

At the time, the commision said: "there are questions about how this feature (Smart Contract Smart Contract A smart contract is a piece of software that automatically executes a pre-determined set of actions when a certain set of criteria or met. One of the key tenets of smart contracts is their ability to perform credible transactions without third parties and are self-executing, with their conditions written into the lines of code that form themAdditionally, these transactions are both trackable and irreversible. For example, a smart contract could be used to give royalty payouts to a musical artist A smart contract is a piece of software that automatically executes a pre-determined set of actions when a certain set of criteria or met. One of the key tenets of smart contracts is their ability to perform credible transactions without third parties and are self-executing, with their conditions written into the lines of code that form themAdditionally, these transactions are both trackable and irreversible. For example, a smart contract could be used to give royalty payouts to a musical artist Read this Term) would interact with contract law concepts such as implied terms or contracts which are held to have been void from the outset. There are also questions about data protection law."

In December, the UK commision also added that the research process could take anywhere between 9 to 18 months to complete.