The Smart Contract Trend
Sep 19, 2017
On September 19, 2017, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP released an article on the smart contract, which is computer code that may allow a legal contract to self-perform in one way or another upon the fulfillment of certain conditions. Smart contract code may also verify and enforce performance of the legal contract in question.
In theory, this offers two main advantages over purely text-based legal contracts:
- it limits debate with respect to the meaning of the agreement, since code is precise and free from fallible human interpretation; and
- it reduces transaction costs, as the contract is performed automatically once the requisite conditions materialize.
However, code often has its own flaws and deficiencies, and the realized efficiencies will depend on whether the transaction in question benefits from being hosted on a distributed platform.
Review the article on Fasken Martineau's website.
