A Comparative Study of Digital Signatures in Smart Contracts Under the Laws of Iran and the United States of America

Subject Areas : Legal Studies of Cyberspace

Sahar Karimi ¹ (Department of Private Law, Faculty of Law & Political Science , Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran)
parisa sinambari ² (Ph.D. student of private law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Khwarazmi University, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2024-02-07 Accepted : 2024-06-16 Published : 2024-09-09

Keywords: Blockchain, Digital Signature, Electronic Commerce Act, Electronic Signature, Smart Contract, UETA,

Abstract :

With the development of technology, the need to reform the legal system for the ultimate benefits are felt more than ever. A facet of technological advances in question is blockchain-based smart contracts, which have been widely welcomed with features such as self-execution, transparency, speed, and elimination of intermediaries. One of the special conditions of smart contracts is digital signature, which facilitates validation and measuring the accuracy of data assignment. In the United States, following the popularization of the use of smart contracts, their validation was carried out through electronic signatures, and in this regard, the Uniform Law of Electronic Transactions (1999) and the Commercial Law of Electronic Signatures at the National and Global Levels (2001) were used. These are indeed the regulations that can validate smart contracts with extended definitions of registrations and electronic signatures. However, there is still a need to enact new regulations on digital signatures and this has been one of the ongoing issues in legislation of blockchain technology. The current research has investigated the legal capacities in Iranian law for crediting smart contracts with a comparative approach and the study of similar cases in the United States law. In this regard, it was stated that in cases where the law deems written registration necessary, an electronic registration including the transaction recorded in the blockchain can also fulfill the condition of being in writing. Also, considering the necessity of validating smart contracts as well as accepting digital signatures in the legislative system, two proposed legal articles were presented in Iran's legal system.

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