Norton Rose Fulbright Addresses Legal Implications of Smart Contracts
Blockchain consortium R3 has contracted global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright to determine the contractual effect and enforceability of smart contracts, reports Finextra.
The issue is whether, or in what circumstances, smart contacts have legally binding contractual effect, are enforceable and whether disputes arising from smart contracts can be resolved by an automated resolution process built into a smart contract.
The Finextra report quotes Todd McDonald, co-founder and COO of R3: “The past few years have seen a great deal of talk about distributed ledger technologies given the profound impact they will have on the future of financial services. In order to fully realise the benefits of the technology, it is essential that we design smart contracts that are legally enforceable. Working with our partners at Norton Rose Fulbright, we’re exploring various ways to ensure smart contracts meet that threshold.”
