Smart contract in contract law in the context of digitalization

The article is devoted to the study of the legal essence of a smart contract, its legal nature. The article analyzes the signs and distinctive characteristics of a smart contract, considers the concepts of legal regulation of a smart contract in the legislation of countries that have included in civil law the rules governing smart contracts. An attempt is made to define the term "smart contract" as a way of fulfilling the obligations of the parties to the agreement, consisting of a set of rights and obligations of the parties, expressed in the form of program code and automatic implementation of these agreements using blockchain platforms and digital assets. When considering the noted subject field, the author emphasizes the need to accompany the smart contract with a regular text file containing the full terms of the agreement, as well as the translation of the text of the smart contract from the programming language into the language familiar to humans and citizens.