Automated Contracting and Civil Law: Legal Challenges to the Validity and Effectiveness of Smart Contracts in the Digital Environment

Abstract

The emergence of smart contracts—self‑executing code deployed on blockchain networks—challenges the traditional foundations of civil contract theory. By operating without human intermediation, these instruments shift contractual autonomy to the algorithmic sphere, merging offer, acceptance, and execution into a single programmed act. This innovation reshapes notions such as form, consent, and cause, while raising issues of nullity, breach, and damages when code fails to capture the parties’ true intent. Blockchain immutability enhances evidentiary security yet complicates the correction of defects. Preserving contractual validity and effectiveness requires harmonizing freedom of contract with guarantees of interpretability, decentralized governance, and dispute‑resolution mechanisms that incorporate reliable oracles and competent jurisdiction. Only then can civil law incorporate automated contracting without sacrificing legal protection.