Legally Binding Relationships with Regard to Digital Objects of Civil Rights

The paper, based on the analysis of the legal nature of new digital objects of civil rights (digital rights, digital currency), makes conclusions concerning possible models of contractual relations arising from object’s data.

The author relies on the fact that in relation to the category “a digital right” an independent object can be recognized only in connection with the peculiarities of the form of the object (the form in which the property rights are fixed) rather than its content. Token is seen as a technical concept. i.e. a digital way of fixing property rights. The paper substantiates that the retributive disposal of the digital right (both as a utilitarian digital right and a digital financial asset), according to which the digital right acquirer in order to transfer the right in question undertakes to pay a certain amount of money, under the general rule, should be qualified as a contract for the sale of a digital right. At the same time, in each case this also refers to the transfers the subject matter of which covers the transfer of a separate property right as an object of civil rights (cashless money, a book-entry security, a law of obligation (claims)) classified by law as a digital right.

From the author’s point of view, digital currency in the system of objects of civil rights can be qualified only as “other property” in compliance with the the sui generis principle. It is concluded that transactions with digital currency should be classified as non-defined contracts. Contractual legal relations aimed at exchanging various objects for digital currency, in cases not contrary to the law, by analogy of the law, can be regulated under the rules applied to the contract of sale, the exclusive right alienation agreement or license agreement. Based on the special provisions of the law, a legally binding relationship regulating the digital currency, provided the tax authorities are not informed about such possession and transactions with such an object, has features of a natural obligation.

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