Smart contracts meaning

This Practice Note sets out detailed, relevant guidance on the principal legal and regulatory compliance obligations that a website operator should take into account within the EU, covering the following areas: the type and functionality of the website information disclosure requirements consumer protection data protection and privacy cookies accessibility cyber security platform-to-business online payments advertising, promotions and direct marketing AI competition law taxation liability for third party content intellectual property and observance of copyright geographic and territorial considerations Topics such as electronic data interchange (EDI), blockchain, smart contracts, or sector-specific laws and regulations—including those relating to financial services, intermediation services, or online auctions—fall outside the scope of this Practice Note. This Practice Note addresses only legislation that has been adopted to date by the EU. For further details on ongoing initiatives that may materially affect websites operating in the EU, also see Practice Note: Key EU digital...

This checklist outlines the key requirements of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, the EU Data Act It sets out what businesses must adhere to, including the following areas: data access and portability smart contracts prohibition on unfair contractual terms right to switch services (operability) open interoperability rules on international data transfers The EU Data Act is designed to foster business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumers (B2C) data sharing from Internet of Things (IoT) devices, promoting fair use of data and enabling the EU to realise the full potential of its data economy. It represents the second major legislative step under the European strategy for data, following Regulation (EU) 2022/868, the EU Data Governance Act. Where the EU Data Governance Act establishes the mechanisms and structures that allow companies, individuals and the public sector to share data, the EU Data Act determines who may generate value from data and under which conditions. The EU Data Act entered into force on...

In this issue: Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Networks and grid connections Renewable energy Capacity Market, balancing services and system flexibility Air emissions, efficiency and climate change International energy Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Energy resources on Lexis+® Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing DESNZ has opened a consultation to strengthen Energy Ombudsman (EO) powers. It will concentrate on complaints from domestic energy suppliers, small enterprise complaints against non-domestic suppliers, and heat network complaints. Electricity and gas networks and third-party intermediaries will instead be consulted on separately. The plans include shortening the escalation period for complaints from eight to four weeks, allowing automatic compensation where EO decisions are not put into effect promptly, and granting the EO a statutory designation. DESNZ has also stated that Ofgem will regulate third‑party intermediaries, including energy brokers and price comparison sites, which have previously operated...

In this issue: Contract law PFI/PF2 contracts Construction industry news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Construction trackers Contract law Compliance with a notification clause—does the other side know enough? (Drax v Scottish Power) In Drax Smart Generation Holdco Ltd v Scottish Power Retail Holdings Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 477, the Court of Appeal examined the contractual rules on notices of claim. These notification provisions are commonplace in share purchase agreements and, with growing regularity, in other forms of agreement. In essence, such clauses state that, before one party can bring a claim against the other, the claimant must first serve a notice of that claim on the counterparty. Non-compliance with the notification clause can render the claim unenforceable and expose it to being struck out and/or summarily dismissed. What, then, amounts to compliance? In this matter, the Court of Appeal indicated that it is sufficient if the recipient is provided with enough information...

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Consumer protection Contracts E-commerce International Public procurement Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&A Advertising, marketing and sponsorship ASA rulings—15 May 2024: A complaint about a post on Astrid Wett’s X (formerly Twitter) profile, promoting a service collating betting offers, was upheld because the promotion featured a person under 25, breaching gambling ad rules. A further complaint concerned a TikTok promotion for a hangover cure that implied a food supplement could treat a human disease; the issue raised was that the claims were misleading. The ASA upheld both challenges. See: LNB News 15/05/2024 97. New CAP and BCAP Code rules on alcohol alternative product advertising come into force: The Advertising Standards Authority and the Committee of Advertising Practice have confirmed that, from 14 May 2024, the updated...

What does this Practice Note cover? This Practice Note sets out a high-level guide to foreign exchange (FX) derivatives and how they support currency hedging. It reviews the principal FX instruments and their applications, and explains the difference between deliverable and non-deliverable structures. FX forwards, FX swaps, and FX options It also summarises the documentation frameworks commonly used in FX derivatives markets, including: International Foreign Exchange Master Agreement (IFEMA) International Foreign Exchange and Currency Option (IFXCO) International Currency Options Market (ICOM) Cross Product Master Agreement (CPMA) Additionally, it considers the regulatory environment, the FX Global Code, and the emerging technologies shaping the FX derivatives landscape. What is a FX derivative? An FX derivative is a contract whose payoff is linked to the exchange rates between two or more currencies. The FX market runs into the trillions of dollars and includes a significant volume of FX derivative contracts. Most FX trades involve the...

This Practice Note sets out the principal Irish legal and regulatory points a website operator should consider when running a site, such as: The type and functionality of the website Information disclosure requirements Consumer protection Privacy and data protection Cookies Accessibility Cybersecurity Platform-to-business Online payments Advertising, promotions and direct marketing Competition law Taxation Liability for third party content Intellectual property and respecting copyright Geographic and territorial considerations Consideration of electronic data interchange (EDI) arrangements, blockchain, smart contracts or sector-specific laws or regulations, including those applicable to financial services, intermediation services or online auctions, is outside the scope of this Practice Note. The type and functionality of the website Applicable compliance duties and rules differ according to a site’s nature, functionality or purpose. Pinpointing these characteristics is the crucial first step for an operator to establish its Irish legal and compliance obligations. For example, is the website ‘information only’;...

ARCHIVED : Practice Note on cryptoassets for dispute resolution lawyers This archived Practice Note surveys court rulings on cryptoassets (cryptocurrencies, NFTs), smart contracts and digital securities covering 2018–2025. It is no longer maintained and is provided for background only. For matters from 2026 onwards, see Practice Note: Cryptoassets for Dispute Resolution lawyers—illustrative decisions (2026). As cryptoassets and smart contracts evolve, legislators are likewise examining how best to facilitate the resolution of disputes arising from these novel technologies. The Note sets out, in a concise tabular overview, key and illustrative decisions of the courts of England and Wales concerning cryptoassets (cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs)), smart contracts and digital securities. For general guidance on cryptoassets for dispute resolution lawyers, see: Practice Note: Cryptoassets for Dispute Resolution lawyers Issues in cryptoasset related civil claims—checklist To keep up-to-date with the work of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (established under the LawTech Delivery Panel), whose objective is ‘to demonstrate that English law and the jurisdiction of...