Asst. Prof. Pınar Çağlayan Aksoy of the Faculty of Law recently published a book titled “Akıllı Sözleşmelerin Kuruluşu ve Geçerlilik Şartları” (The Formation and Validity of Smart Contracts), from On İki Levha Publishing House.
As the author notes, blockchain technology and smart contracts are of interest not only to technology enthusiasts and Bitcoin users, but are also being studied from economic, technical, legal and philosophical perspectives. It is certain that smart contracts concluded on the blockchain will play an active role in the development of international trade by reducing transaction costs and the need for intermediaries, and by accelerating the payment process. Although many areas of law have relevance to smart contracts, it is of particular importance to determine where smart contracts will fall within the scope of contract law.
In this study, the question of whether smart contracts have the legal nature of a contract is tackled, and the application of the rules of the law of obligations regarding contract formation to smart contracts is discussed. The book also examines the question of whether current contract law rules are sufficient to resolve legal issues arising from smart contracts, or whether new rules specifically designed for smart contracts will have to be introduced.