Abstract
Smart contracts—self-executing agreements operating on decentralized blockchain networks—challenge the fundamental assumptions underlying traditional contract law. This Article challenges the prevailing scholarly approach that seeks to reshape smart contracts to fit existing doctrinal frameworks. Instead, it argues for adapting contract law itself to better accommodate smart contracts, given their unique advantages in cyberspace. Building on two complementary premises—that contract law primarily operates as “mimicking law,” reflecting the presumed expectations and preferences of contracting parties, and that default rules function as behavioral reference points that shape party behavior—the Article develops a positive theory predicting the expectations and preferences of parties entering into smart contracts. It contends that these expectations fundamentally differ from those that shape traditional contractual engagements and that, when existing doctrines diverge from those expectations, such doctrines can no longer serve as effective legal default rules. The Article concludes by proposing a set of normative adaptation principles designed to align contract law with the expectations underlying smart contracts. Grounded in and illustrated through Israeli contract law as a case study, these principles provide a foundation for evaluating and implementing doctrinal adaptations across diverse legal systems.
Recommended Citation
Amir Bushansky,
From Presumed Intent to Programmed Performance: Smart Contracts and the Future of Contract Law,
74 Clev. St. L. Rev.
297
(2026)
available at https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clevstlrev/vol74/iss2/5