Skip to main content

Setting Standards for Altering and Undoing Smart Contracts

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Rule Technologies. Research, Tools, and Applications (RuleML 2016)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 9718))

Abstract

Often, we wish to let parties alter or undo a contract that has been made. Toward this end, contract law has developed a set of traditional tools for altering and undoing contracts. Unfortunately, these tools often fail when applied to smart contracts. It is therefore necessary to define a new set of standards for the altering and undoing of smart contracts. These standards might ensure that the tools we use to alter and undo smart contracts achieve their original (contract law) goals when applied to this new technology. This paper develops such a set of standards and, then, to prove their worth as a framework, applies to them to an existing smart contract platform (Ethereum).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Posner, R.: Economic Analysis of Law. Little Brown and Co., Boston (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Szabo, N.: Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Juels, A., Kosba, A., Shi, E.: The Ring of Gyges: Investigating the Future of Criminal Smart Contracts (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Szabo, N.: Smart Contracts (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Szabo, N.: The Idea of Smart Contracts (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Buterin, V.: Ethereum White Paper (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Posner, R.: Let us never blame a contract breaker. Mich. Law Rev. 107, 1360 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Black, H.C.: Black’s Law Dictionary, p. 1025 (1910)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Black, H.C.: A Treatise on the Rescission of Contracts and Cancellation of Written Instruments, vol. 1 (1916)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Koford, H.S.: Recessions at law and in equity. Calif. Law Rev. 36, 608 (1948)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Atlas Trucking v. City of Lompoc, S224878, 2015 Cal. LEXIS 2165 (Sup. Ct. Cal., 15 April 2015)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Great American Ins. v. General Builders, 934 p. 2d 257, 262 n. 6 (Nev. 1997)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Corbin, A.L.: Corbin on Contracts, vol. 5A (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Russell, I.S.: Reinventing the deal: a sequential approach to analyzing claims for enforcement of modified sales contracts. Fla. Law Rev. 53, 51 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  15. DeMichele, M.L., Bales, R.A.: Unilateral-modification provisions in employment arbitration agreements. Hofstra Employ. Law J. 24, 64 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Carey v. 24 Hour Fitness, USA, Inc., 669 F.3d 202 (5th Cir. 2012)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Christine, C.: Contracts as bilateral commitments: a new perspective on contract modification. J. Legal Stud. 26, 204 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hillman, R.A.: A study of uniform commercial code methodology: contract modification under article two. N. C. Law Rev. 59, 339 (1981)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Williston, S., Lord, R.: Williston on Contracts (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Moffett, Hodgkins & Clarke Co. v. Rochester, 178 U.S. 373, 385 (1900)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Link v. Kroenke, 909 S.W.2d 740, 745 (Mo. App. W.D. 1995)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co., 350 F.2d 445, 449 (D.C. Cir. 1965)

    Google Scholar 

  23. The Great Chain of Being Sure About Things. The Economist (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Marino, B.: https://medium.com/@ConsenSys/unpacking-the-term-smart-contract-e63238f7db65

  25. Delmolino, K., Arnett, M., Kosba, A., Miller, A., Shi, E.: Step by Step Towards Creating a Safe Smart Contract: Lessons and Insights from a Cryptocurrency Lab (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Wood, G.: https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Solidity,-Docs-and-ABI

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bill Marino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this paper

Cite this paper

Marino, B., Juels, A. (2016). Setting Standards for Altering and Undoing Smart Contracts. In: Alferes, J., Bertossi, L., Governatori, G., Fodor, P., Roman, D. (eds) Rule Technologies. Research, Tools, and Applications. RuleML 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9718. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42019-6_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42019-6_10

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42018-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42019-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics