区块链智能合约的合同法分析
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摘要
智能合约以区块链为底层技术,具有去中心化、去信任、不可篡改、自动履行等特性。区块链智能合约包括代码层、文本层、底层规则及其控制的智能财产,呈现技术、法律两个方面。前者是区块链智能合约代码,后者系代码承载之法律关系,按属性分为公法类、私法类;私法类依内容分为合同型、实体型,合同型系主要法律形式。区块链智能合约蕴含当事人一致之意思表示或要约承诺,可基于合约结构或综合并列的传统合同,经解释确定,符合传统民法合同标准,应纳入合同法框架。为检视其合同法适用性,可深入探析效力、修改与履行、违约及救济等。效力应依法认定,重在主体行为能力、第三人欺诈胁迫、单方错误、合约机制不完备等效力瑕疵事由。修改应严格受限,以维护合约特性;匿名合约不得修改,除非相对方纯获利益。合约自动履行是全面实际履行,可编码支持实质履行、部分履行。为降低违约纠纷解决成本,合约事先置备自动执行机制,但措施合法性存疑;最终仍须寻求公力救济,核心在于合约代码内容的证明方式及可采性。
Smart contracts use blockchain as the underlying technology, with features such as decentralization, trustworthiness, non-tampering and automatic fulfillment. The blockchain smart contract includes the code layer, the text layer, the underlying rules and relatedsmart property, and presents both technical and legal aspects. The former is the blockchain smart contract code, the latter is the legal relationship of the code bearer, divided into public law and private law according to the attribute; the private law category is divided into contract type and entity type according to the content, and the contract type is the main legal form. The blockchain smart contract implies the meeting of minds or offer and acceptance, which is determined by interpretation based on the smart contract structure or the integrated traditional contracts. The blockchain smart contract conforms to the contract standards in traditional civil law and should be included in the contract law framework. In order to examine the applicability of its contract law, it can conduct in-depth analysis of effectiveness, modification and performance, breach of contract and relief. The effectiveness shall be determined in accordance with the law, focusing on the subject's behavioral ability, third-party fraud and coercing, unilateral error, and incomplete mechanisms of smart contract. In order to maintain the characteristics of the smart contract, the amendments should be strictly limited, and the anonymous smart contract must not be modified unless the opposite party is appropriately compensated. The automatic performance of the smart contract is comprehensive and actual, and it is possible for substantive or partial performance to be coded into smart contracts. In order to decrease the cost of dispute settlement, the parties put the automatic execution mechanism into the smart contract ex ante, but the legality of the executive measures is doubtful; the key to public relief as ultimate dispute settlement mechanism is the proof of the content of the smart contract code and the admissibility.
Smart contracts use blockchain as the underlying technology, with features such as decentralization, trustworthiness, non-tampering and automatic fulfillment. The blockchain smart contract includes the code layer, the text layer, the underlying rules and relatedsmart property, and presents both technical and legal aspects. The former is the blockchain smart contract code, the latter is the legal relationship of the code bearer, divided into public law and private law according to the attribute; the private law category is divided into contract type and entity type according to the content, and the contract type is the main legal form. The blockchain smart contract implies the meeting of minds or offer and acceptance, which is determined by interpretation based on the smart contract structure or the integrated traditional contracts. The blockchain smart contract conforms to the contract standards in traditional civil law and should be included in the contract law framework. In order to examine the applicability of its contract law, it can conduct in-depth analysis of effectiveness, modification and performance, breach of contract and relief. The effectiveness shall be determined in accordance with the law, focusing on the subject's behavioral ability, third-party fraud and coercing, unilateral error, and incomplete mechanisms of smart contract. In order to maintain the characteristics of the smart contract, the amendments should be strictly limited, and the anonymous smart contract must not be modified unless the opposite party is appropriately compensated. The automatic performance of the smart contract is comprehensive and actual, and it is possible for substantive or partial performance to be coded into smart contracts. In order to decrease the cost of dispute settlement, the parties put the automatic execution mechanism into the smart contract ex ante, but the legality of the executive measures is doubtful; the key to public relief as ultimate dispute settlement mechanism is the proof of the content of the smart contract code and the admissibility.
引文
[1]Nick Szabo,Smart Contracts:Building Blocks for Digital Markets(1996),http://szabo.best.vwh.net/smart-contracts 2.html,Oct.15,2018.
[2]See Max Raskin,The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts,1 GEO L TECH REV(2017),p.314.
[3]See Alexander Savelyev,Contract Law 2.0:Smart Contracts as The Beginning of The End of Classic Contract Law(2016),https://ssrn.com/abstract=2885241,Oct.15,2018.
[4]See Henning Diedrich,Ethereum 20(2016),p.115.
[5]Gideon Greenspan,Beware of the Impossible Smart Contract,Blockchain News(April 12,2016),http://www.the-blockchain.com/2016/04/12/beware-of-impossible-smart-contract,Oct.16,2018.
[6]袁勇、王飞跃:《区块链技术发展现状与展望》,《自动化学报》2016年第4期,第491页。
[7]Harry Surden, Computable Contracts, 46 U.C.Davis L.Rev. 639(2012).
[8]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal, 313(2017).
[9]Christopher K.Odinet,Bitproperty and Commercial Credit,94 Wash.Univ.L.Rev. 649.
[10]See Simon Peyton Jones et al., Composing Contracts:An Adventure In Financial Engineering, 5 Proc. Acm Sigplan Int'l Conf. on Functional Programming 280(2000).
[11]See Harry Surden, Computable Contracts, 46 U.C.Davis L.Rev. 682—83(2012).
[12][美]凯文-沃巴赫:《信任,但需要验证:论区块链为何需要法律》,林少伟译,《东方法学》2018年第4期,第30页。
[13]William Mougayar, The Business Blockchain:Promise, Practice and Applications of The Next Internet Technology. Wiley, 2016, p.42.
[14]参见张成岗:《区块链时代:技术发展、社会变革及风险挑战》,《学术前沿》2018年第6期下,第39页。
[15]长铗、韩锋等:《区块链:从数字货币到信用社会》,中信出版集团2016年版,第119页。
[16]See Mykyta Sokolov, Smart Legal Contract as a Future of Contracts Enforcement(May 25, 2018), https://ssrn.com/abstract=3208292,Oct.22, 2018.
[17]Kevin Werbach, Trustless Trust 31(Aug.8, 2016). TRPC 44:The 44th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy 2016,https://ssrn.com/abstract=2757380, Oct.22, 2018.
[18]前引[15],长铗、韩锋等书,第52页。
[19]Vitalik Buterin, On Public and Private Blockchains, Ethereum Blog(August 7, 2015),https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/08/07/onpublic-and-private-blockchains/, Oct.23, 2018.
[20]前引[15],长铗、韩锋等书,第53页。
[21]Vitalik Buterin, On Public and Private Blockchains, Ethereum Blog(August 7, 2015),https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/08/07/onpublic-and-private-blockchains/, Oct.23,2018.
[22]ISDA&Linklaters,Smart Contracts and Distributed Ledger-A Legal Perspective,(2017)White Paper, p.14.
[23]参见曾楠:《“公”与“私”之变:政治认同的变迁考察》,《南通大学学报》(社会科学版)2018年第5期,第43—46页。
[24]王泽鉴:《民法总则》,北京大学出版社2009年版,第9页。
[25]笔者认为,“smart contract”应直译为“聪明合约”,意译为“自动合约”。目前它只是基于预设方法判断是否达到预设状态,继而采取预设之履行执行措施。完全属于人类设定的程式自动作用结果,缺乏自主性、主动性,难谓“智能”(intelligent)。
[26]See David Johnston, et al, The General Theory of Decentralized Applications, DApps, https://github.com/DavidJohnstonCEO/DecentralizedApplications-the-emerging-wave-of-decentralized-applications, Oct.26, 2018.
[27]Henning Diedrich, Ethereum 20(2016), p.31.
[28]See Vitalik Buterin, Bootstrapping A Decentralized Autonomous Corporation:Part 1,Bitcoin Magazine(Step.19, 2013), https://bitcoinmagazine.com/7050/bootstrapping-a-decentralized-autonomous-corporation-part-i/. Oct.26,2018.
[29]参见陈立洋:《区块链研究的法学反思:基于知识工程的视角》,《东方法学》2018年第3期,第108页。
[30]See R3&Norton Rose Fulbright, Can Smart Contracts Be Legally Binding Contracts?(2016)White Paper,27, http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/144559/can-smart-contracts-be-legally-binding-contracts,Oct.29,2018.
[31]ProCD, Inc.v.Zeidenberg, 86 F.3d 1447(7th Cir.1996).
[32]Hill v. GATEWAY 2000,INC.,105 F.3d 1147(7th Cir.1997).
[33]Register.com, Inc. v. Verio, Inc., 356 F.3d 393(2nd Cir. 2004).
[34]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina,(2017)67 Duke Law Journal, p.313;Eliza Mik, Smart contracts:Terminology, Technical Limitations and Real World Complexity'(2017)9(2)Law, Innovation and Technology, p.272.
[35]Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.323.
[36]Mirigam Eggen, Chain of Contracts, Aktuelle Juristische Praxis(AJP), 26(1), p.8.
[37]Chamber of Digital Commerce, Smart Contracts:12 Use Cased for Business&Beyond,(2016)White Paper, https://digitalchamber.org/smart-contracts(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[38]See Christopher D.Clack, Vikram A. Bakshi&Lee Braine, Smart Contract Templates:Foundations, Design Landscape and Research Direction(Aug.4, 2016), https://arxiv.org/pdf/1608.00771v2.pdf(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[39]William Mougayar, 9 Myths Surrounding Blockchain Smart Contracts, COINDESK(Mar.23, 2015), http://www.coindesk.com/smart-contract-myths-blockchain/(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[40][德]卡尔·拉伦茨:《法学方法论》,陈爱娥译,商务印书馆2003年版,第193页。
[41]John W.L. Ogilvie, Defining Computer Program Parts Under Learned Hand's Abstractions Test, 91 MICH.L.REV.526(1992).
[42]参见孙秀成等:《虚拟社会的现实转向与推进原则》,《江西社会科学》2018年第12期,第225页。
[43]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal 313(2017).
[44]See Jean Camp, Digital Identity, IEEE Tech.&Soc'y(Fall 2004), p.34.
[45]See Kaylin Duckitt, Deloitte Launches Smart Identity Proof of Concept(Deloitte May 4, 2016), https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/deloitte-launches-smart-identity-proof-of-concept.html(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[46]王泽鉴:《民法总则》,北京大学出版社2009年版,第352页。
[47]梁慧星:《民法总论》,法律出版社2017年版,第184—185页。
[48]See Angela Walch, The Bitcoin Blockchain as Financial Market Infrastructure:A Consideration of Operational Risk, 18 N.Y.U.J.Legis.&Pub.Pol'y 837, p.856, 858.
[49]See Smart Oracles:A Simple, Powerful Approach to Smart Contracts(July 17,2014), https://github.com/codius/codius/wiki/SmartOracles:-A-Simple,-Powerful-Approach-to-Smart-%20Contracts(last visited Nov.6, 2018).
[50]Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal, 313(2017).
[51]Lauren Henry Scholz, Algorithmic Contracts, 20 Stanford Technology Law Review(2017).
[52]See Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.327;Eliza Mik, Smart contracts:Terminology, Technical Limitations and Real World Complexity'(2017)9(2)Law, Innovation and Technology, p.280.
[53]See Mykyta Sokolov, Smart Legal Contract as a Future of Contracts Enforcement(May 25,2018),https://ssrn.com/abstract=3208292,Nov.9,2018.
[54]前引[12],沃巴赫文,第25—30页。
[55]参见孟伟、杨之林:《人工智能技术的伦理问题》,《大连理工大学学报(社会科学版)》2018年第5期,第112页。
[56]See Steve Omohundro, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and Artificial Intelligence, AI Matters, Vol.1,19—21, 2014.
[57]参见李振利、李毅:《论算法共谋的反垄断规制路径》,《学术交流》2018年第7期,第74—76页。
[58]See Solon Barocas&Andrew D.Selbst, Big Data's Disparate Impact, 104 Cal.L.Rev.671(2016).
[59]郑戈:《区块链与未来法治》,《东方法学》2018年第3期,第83页。
[60]参见朱庆育:《民法总论》,北京大学出版社2013年版,第559—560页。
[61]See Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.332.
[62]In re Hampton, 319 B.R.163, 175(Bankr.E.D.Ark.2005).
[63]参见魏振瀛主编:《民法》,北京大学出版社、高等教育出版社2000年版,第432页。
[2]See Max Raskin,The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts,1 GEO L TECH REV(2017),p.314.
[3]See Alexander Savelyev,Contract Law 2.0:Smart Contracts as The Beginning of The End of Classic Contract Law(2016),https://ssrn.com/abstract=2885241,Oct.15,2018.
[4]See Henning Diedrich,Ethereum 20(2016),p.115.
[5]Gideon Greenspan,Beware of the Impossible Smart Contract,Blockchain News(April 12,2016),http://www.the-blockchain.com/2016/04/12/beware-of-impossible-smart-contract,Oct.16,2018.
[6]袁勇、王飞跃:《区块链技术发展现状与展望》,《自动化学报》2016年第4期,第491页。
[7]Harry Surden, Computable Contracts, 46 U.C.Davis L.Rev. 639(2012).
[8]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal, 313(2017).
[9]Christopher K.Odinet,Bitproperty and Commercial Credit,94 Wash.Univ.L.Rev. 649.
[10]See Simon Peyton Jones et al., Composing Contracts:An Adventure In Financial Engineering, 5 Proc. Acm Sigplan Int'l Conf. on Functional Programming 280(2000).
[11]See Harry Surden, Computable Contracts, 46 U.C.Davis L.Rev. 682—83(2012).
[12][美]凯文-沃巴赫:《信任,但需要验证:论区块链为何需要法律》,林少伟译,《东方法学》2018年第4期,第30页。
[13]William Mougayar, The Business Blockchain:Promise, Practice and Applications of The Next Internet Technology. Wiley, 2016, p.42.
[14]参见张成岗:《区块链时代:技术发展、社会变革及风险挑战》,《学术前沿》2018年第6期下,第39页。
[15]长铗、韩锋等:《区块链:从数字货币到信用社会》,中信出版集团2016年版,第119页。
[16]See Mykyta Sokolov, Smart Legal Contract as a Future of Contracts Enforcement(May 25, 2018), https://ssrn.com/abstract=3208292,Oct.22, 2018.
[17]Kevin Werbach, Trustless Trust 31(Aug.8, 2016). TRPC 44:The 44th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy 2016,https://ssrn.com/abstract=2757380, Oct.22, 2018.
[18]前引[15],长铗、韩锋等书,第52页。
[19]Vitalik Buterin, On Public and Private Blockchains, Ethereum Blog(August 7, 2015),https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/08/07/onpublic-and-private-blockchains/, Oct.23, 2018.
[20]前引[15],长铗、韩锋等书,第53页。
[21]Vitalik Buterin, On Public and Private Blockchains, Ethereum Blog(August 7, 2015),https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/08/07/onpublic-and-private-blockchains/, Oct.23,2018.
[22]ISDA&Linklaters,Smart Contracts and Distributed Ledger-A Legal Perspective,(2017)White Paper, p.14.
[23]参见曾楠:《“公”与“私”之变:政治认同的变迁考察》,《南通大学学报》(社会科学版)2018年第5期,第43—46页。
[24]王泽鉴:《民法总则》,北京大学出版社2009年版,第9页。
[25]笔者认为,“smart contract”应直译为“聪明合约”,意译为“自动合约”。目前它只是基于预设方法判断是否达到预设状态,继而采取预设之履行执行措施。完全属于人类设定的程式自动作用结果,缺乏自主性、主动性,难谓“智能”(intelligent)。
[26]See David Johnston, et al, The General Theory of Decentralized Applications, DApps, https://github.com/DavidJohnstonCEO/DecentralizedApplications-the-emerging-wave-of-decentralized-applications, Oct.26, 2018.
[27]Henning Diedrich, Ethereum 20(2016), p.31.
[28]See Vitalik Buterin, Bootstrapping A Decentralized Autonomous Corporation:Part 1,Bitcoin Magazine(Step.19, 2013), https://bitcoinmagazine.com/7050/bootstrapping-a-decentralized-autonomous-corporation-part-i/. Oct.26,2018.
[29]参见陈立洋:《区块链研究的法学反思:基于知识工程的视角》,《东方法学》2018年第3期,第108页。
[30]See R3&Norton Rose Fulbright, Can Smart Contracts Be Legally Binding Contracts?(2016)White Paper,27, http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/144559/can-smart-contracts-be-legally-binding-contracts,Oct.29,2018.
[31]ProCD, Inc.v.Zeidenberg, 86 F.3d 1447(7th Cir.1996).
[32]Hill v. GATEWAY 2000,INC.,105 F.3d 1147(7th Cir.1997).
[33]Register.com, Inc. v. Verio, Inc., 356 F.3d 393(2nd Cir. 2004).
[34]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina,(2017)67 Duke Law Journal, p.313;Eliza Mik, Smart contracts:Terminology, Technical Limitations and Real World Complexity'(2017)9(2)Law, Innovation and Technology, p.272.
[35]Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.323.
[36]Mirigam Eggen, Chain of Contracts, Aktuelle Juristische Praxis(AJP), 26(1), p.8.
[37]Chamber of Digital Commerce, Smart Contracts:12 Use Cased for Business&Beyond,(2016)White Paper, https://digitalchamber.org/smart-contracts(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[38]See Christopher D.Clack, Vikram A. Bakshi&Lee Braine, Smart Contract Templates:Foundations, Design Landscape and Research Direction(Aug.4, 2016), https://arxiv.org/pdf/1608.00771v2.pdf(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[39]William Mougayar, 9 Myths Surrounding Blockchain Smart Contracts, COINDESK(Mar.23, 2015), http://www.coindesk.com/smart-contract-myths-blockchain/(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[40][德]卡尔·拉伦茨:《法学方法论》,陈爱娥译,商务印书馆2003年版,第193页。
[41]John W.L. Ogilvie, Defining Computer Program Parts Under Learned Hand's Abstractions Test, 91 MICH.L.REV.526(1992).
[42]参见孙秀成等:《虚拟社会的现实转向与推进原则》,《江西社会科学》2018年第12期,第225页。
[43]See Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal 313(2017).
[44]See Jean Camp, Digital Identity, IEEE Tech.&Soc'y(Fall 2004), p.34.
[45]See Kaylin Duckitt, Deloitte Launches Smart Identity Proof of Concept(Deloitte May 4, 2016), https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/deloitte-launches-smart-identity-proof-of-concept.html(last visited Nov.2, 2018).
[46]王泽鉴:《民法总则》,北京大学出版社2009年版,第352页。
[47]梁慧星:《民法总论》,法律出版社2017年版,第184—185页。
[48]See Angela Walch, The Bitcoin Blockchain as Financial Market Infrastructure:A Consideration of Operational Risk, 18 N.Y.U.J.Legis.&Pub.Pol'y 837, p.856, 858.
[49]See Smart Oracles:A Simple, Powerful Approach to Smart Contracts(July 17,2014), https://github.com/codius/codius/wiki/SmartOracles:-A-Simple,-Powerful-Approach-to-Smart-%20Contracts(last visited Nov.6, 2018).
[50]Kevin Werbach&Nicolas Cornell, Contracts Ex Machina, 67 Duke Law Journal, 313(2017).
[51]Lauren Henry Scholz, Algorithmic Contracts, 20 Stanford Technology Law Review(2017).
[52]See Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.327;Eliza Mik, Smart contracts:Terminology, Technical Limitations and Real World Complexity'(2017)9(2)Law, Innovation and Technology, p.280.
[53]See Mykyta Sokolov, Smart Legal Contract as a Future of Contracts Enforcement(May 25,2018),https://ssrn.com/abstract=3208292,Nov.9,2018.
[54]前引[12],沃巴赫文,第25—30页。
[55]参见孟伟、杨之林:《人工智能技术的伦理问题》,《大连理工大学学报(社会科学版)》2018年第5期,第112页。
[56]See Steve Omohundro, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, and Artificial Intelligence, AI Matters, Vol.1,19—21, 2014.
[57]参见李振利、李毅:《论算法共谋的反垄断规制路径》,《学术交流》2018年第7期,第74—76页。
[58]See Solon Barocas&Andrew D.Selbst, Big Data's Disparate Impact, 104 Cal.L.Rev.671(2016).
[59]郑戈:《区块链与未来法治》,《东方法学》2018年第3期,第83页。
[60]参见朱庆育:《民法总论》,北京大学出版社2013年版,第559—560页。
[61]See Max Raskin, The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts, 1 GEO L TECH REV(2017), p.332.
[62]In re Hampton, 319 B.R.163, 175(Bankr.E.D.Ark.2005).
[63]参见魏振瀛主编:《民法》,北京大学出版社、高等教育出版社2000年版,第432页。