Concept Of Smart Contract Research Articles

Smart contract: Revolutionizing transactions in the digital age

Blockchain technology is a revolutionary concept that has transformed various industries, offering decentralized and secure solutions for data management. At its core, a blockchain is a distributed and immutable ledger that records transactions across a network of computers. One of the key features of blockchain is its transparency, as each participant in the network has access to the same information. The application of blockchain technology extends across diverse sectors, with finance being the most promising and well-known application domain. Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, rely on blockchain to facilitate secure and transparent transactions. The decentralized nature of blockchain eliminates the need for intermediaries, reducing transaction costs and increasing efficiency. Beyond finance, blockchain is making significant strides in supply chain management. The emergence of blockchain technology has paved the way for a transformative innovation in the realm of digital transactions: smart contracts. These self-executing contracts encoded in blockchain have garnered significant attention for their potential to revolutionize the way agreements are made, executed, and enforced. This paper explores the concept of smart contracts, delving into the underlying technology, finding applications across various industries, legal implications, and future prospects.

A Smarter Way to Procure: Exploring the Use of Smart Contracts

Purpose:This article delves into the transformative potential of smart contracts in revolutionizing procurement within supply chain management, with a special focus on the healthcare industry. In line with the challenges posed by complex procurement processes, the study explores how self-executing digital contracts can enhance efficiency, security, and transparency. Theoretical framework:The article is grounded in the concept of smart contracts and their applications in procurement, serving as a bridge between emerging technology and supply chain management innovation. It draws upon an extensive body of literature and research related to smart contracts, supply chain management, and technology adoption. The study is designed to build upon this theoretical foundation, using two comprehensive case studies to provide real-world insights and practical applications. These case studies, situated within the healthcare industry, serve as tangible examples of how the theoretical concepts surrounding smart contracts manifest in actual procurement processes. Design/methodology/approach:To investigate the application of smart contracts in healthcare procurement, we employed a qualitative research approach. This encompassed an extensive literature review of academic papers, industry reports, and relevant articles, uncovering the unique advantages and challenges in procurement & supply chain management. Building upon these findings, we developed a groundbreaking smart contract-based procurement system, presented through sequence diagrams. To validate our solution, we implemented and rigorously tested it within a real-world Ethereum environment. Findings:Our research reveals that integrating smart contracts into procurement processes results in streamlined operations, diminished reliance on intermediaries, and heightened transparency and traceability. Moreover, the proposed solution showcases significant potential for enhancing procurement efficiency in the healthcare sector. Research, Practical & Social Implications: These findings present valuable insights with far-reaching implications and hold substantial implications for stakeholders. Healthcare organizations can harness smart contracts to optimize their procurement procedures, yielding improved efficiency, transparency, and security. In a rapidly digitalizing landscape, our research empowers companies to maintain their competitive edge while delivering enhanced value to partners and customers. Originality/value:This article contributes significantly to the existing literature by offering a comprehensive examination of smart contract integration within procurement function, set within the broader context of supply chain management. It introduces a pioneering solution and provides a validated methodology, paving the way for in-depth exploration of smart contracts' impact on diverse stakeholders across healthcare supply chains

Kontrak Pintar; Analisis Syariah dan Parameter (Smart Contract; Shariah Analysis and Parameter)

Smart Contract is one of the new technological developments related to the Industrial Revolution 4.0 which emphasizes on the execution of contracts between two parties automatically based on the terms and conditions that have been agreed before. This concept minimizes the role of intermediaries that exist in traditionally executed contracts thus leading to positive effects such as cost reduction, saving time and money, less cases of fraud, manipulation and so on. Looking at the philosophy of smart contracts, it is in line with the Maqasid / Objectives of Syariah. However, the nature of this concept which relies on automation which means lack of human intervention in executing the content of the contract raises questions about shariah compliancy in the operationalization of this system especially regarding the function and eligibility of the computer system as a contracting parties rather that human, as well as what is fiqh adaptation for such concept, in addition to what is parameters and dawābit that is required to ensure that each product based on smart contracts is Shariah compliant in terms of its content, shariah monitoring process once the contract is executed, and other related issues. This study is based on a full library research where the concept of smart contracts is analyzed based on the framework of Shariah law in Muamalat, in addition to the latest technological developments related to it. The results of the study found that smart contract is an acceptable concept in Islam, but it needs some guidance and improvement to ensure it really coincides with the parameters required by Shariah, namely full compliance with the pillars and conditions of the contract, must also be in line with Maqasid al-Shariah and current applicable law, the existence of elements of compassion, consideration, tolerance/Tasāmuh and others.

LEGAL NATURE OF A SMART-CONTRACT AND ISSUES OF ITS APPLICATION IN THE FIELD OF DIGITAL ASSETS

The article looks into the concept and legal nature of smart contracts, as well as the issues that arise during the use of smart contracts in the field of digital assets. The technical and legal aspects of the concept of a smart contract are considered. Models of use of smart contracts are described. Scientific and legislative approaches to determining the legal nature of smart contracts are presented. The dual legal nature of a legal smart contract is analyzed: as a form of transaction and an object of copyright. Some issues in the field of protection of the rights of smart contract parties are considered. Based on the findings, temporary solutions in the field of using smart contracts are proposed.

EHDHE: Enhancing security of healthcare documents in IoT-enabled digital healthcare ecosystems using blockchain

Nowadays, blockchain technology is one of the advanced technologies to ensure the security of users’ sensitive or confidential data. Blockchain technology plays a vital role in various applications like artificial intelligence, supply chain, cloud computing, the healthcare sector, and many more. It helps the healthcare domain to get benefitted from its many advanced features, such as confidentiality, decentralization, security, and privacy. Also, the Internet of Things (IoT) devices connect with the healthcare systems, and the healthcare sector application software further communicates with the IT industry. The blockchain-based IoT systems have significantly impacted the healthcare sector by enhancing security, privacy, transparency, and efficiency, providing better business opportunities. Moreover, traditional healthcare systems face severe security and privacy problems, such as phishing, masquerades, identity theft, and many others. Thus, a secure blockchain-based Proposed Application (PA) is designed to generate, maintain, and validate healthcare certificates. The PA acts as a communication medium between the backend blockchain network and application entities like hospitals, patients, doctors, and IoT devices to create and verify medical certificates. It also ensures various security features, namely confidentiality, authentication, and access control, using the concept of smart contracts. The comparative and performance analysis of the proposed work shows that it provides a more effective solution than the existing schemes.

Research of the application of blockchain and smart contract technologies in spectrum management and trading in cognitive radio networks

The rapid growth of wireless communication technologies has led to an exponential increase in the demand for spectrum resources. Spectrum management, the process of allocation and control of limited radio frequency spectrum, is critical to the efficient and equitable distribution of this scarce resource. However, traditional methods of spectrum management face many problems, including inefficiency, lack of transparency and proneness to fraud. In recent years, blockchain technology has emerged as a potential solution to these problems. The emergence of smart contracts using blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize spectrum trading and improve spectrum management practices. This paper explores the application of blockchain in spectrum management and discusses its potential to revolutionize the way spectrum resources are allocated and managed. Also, the concept of smart contracts and their application in spectrum trading are studied. It discusses the benefits of using smart contracts for transparent and efficient spectrum transactions, implementation challenges, and potential solutions. Through the use of smart contracts, a secure and decentralized market for spectrum resources can be created, facilitating dynamic and flexible allocation of spectrum.

The Study of Smart Contract in the Hara Platform under the Law of Contract in Indonesia

Recently, the concept of smart contract has come to existence as an alternative for a more technologically sophisticated digital contract. Smart contract operates based on the blockchain technology, does not involve a third party and has self-executing ability; allowing an implementation of a contract with zero risk of failure. In regards to this, HARA, an agriculture start-up company, created a self-titled platform that focuses on data exchange in the decentralized agriculture sector in order to provide consumers with the access to data. Some of the data provided by HARA include farmer identifications; cultivation data; specific location data; ecology data; market information and transaction data which are collected from various sources. However, an in-depth study is required to better understand smart contract and its contract law application. This study is normative legal research and used the conceptual and statutory approaches. Smart contract and its self-executing or self-enforcing ability does not render a revision or renewal of the contract by the contracting parties impossible. In this case, the responsibility of the platform provider to meet the terms of the contract can still be requested. The concept of smart contract, which is also categorized as an electronic agent, has met the Indonesian requirements for contract validity. The distinct feature of a smart contract is its self-executing/self-enforcing ability. Furthermore, there are five legal relationships that exist among the users of the HARA application.

Establishing Agri and Food Supply Chain Provenance Based on Blockchain: Literature Review

In recent years, technological research and studies have accelerated in the agriculture and food industry to protect and improve the trust of consumers. In 2008, with the publication of the white paper on “Bitcoin: Peer-to-peer Electronic Cash Payment System” by Satoshi Nakamoto, the world met with blockchain technology, where there are no middlemen and transfers are made securely. In the following years, with the development of Ethereum by Vitalik Buterin and the interpretation of the concept of Smart Contracts with blockchain technology, blockchain technology has begun to influence all sectors, thanks to its benefits such as increasing transparency and reliability in contracts between parties. Blockchain technology, in addition to providing solutions to financial systems that have become dysfunctional, also brings alternatives to supply chain management, where data needs to be transferred securely and quickly. Blockchain applications used in FSC emerge as a technology that will enable us to solve problems such as food security, food integrity, food fraud, etc.
 In this paper, It has been studied on how to use blockchain technology in the food supply chain, how to choose the suitable blockchain platform, and how It will be facilitating for solutions such as tracking from field to fork, back-tracking are examined the data saved in the blocks and the working mechanism will be discussed in the background.

Opportunities and applications of smart contracts: A vision from the business, academic and scientific literature

Objective. In the present work, the bibliographical production referring to smart contracts is reviewed from the business, academic and scientific points of view. The aim is to analyze precisely how the relationship between smart contracts and blockchain occurs to establish a context in both developments.
 Design/Methodology/Approach. The Scopus database was consulted using the keyword: "smart contract". It was decided to use the SciMAT bibliometric tool for the bibliometric study with the approach based on a joint analysis of words and the h-index to visualize diagrams and thematic areas relatively simply for two periods: 2010-2018 and 2019-2021.
 Results/Discussion. It was necessary to know the concept of smart contracts for the future of contract law and the digital economy. Some institutions and people will be against considering them as authorized legal alternatives; However, due to the technological advance currently being presented, their development will only be a matter of time.
 Conclusions. Smart contracts are a technological innovation that, through blockchain technology, carry out transactions safely, quickly and with almost no risk of non-compliance.

Smart Contracts Used in the Blockchain: A Juristic Stud

Objectives: The research aims to clarify the ruling on forming smart contracts using the blockchain technology, and the related conditions and pillars of legality. Methods: The researchers used a descriptive approach to describe smart contracts and the pillars on which they are based, an inductive approach by extrapolating the scientific material related to the topic of research from ancient fiqh books, contemporary books, and an analytical approach to clarify the legality of smart contracts using the blockchain, its pillars and related conditions. Results: The study concluded that the concept of smart contracts that are formed using blockchain is a contemporary technological term, and there is no agreement on an overarching definition of it. This is because the technology through which these contracts are formed is constantly evolving. The study also found that blockchain technology is the infrastructure for implementing smart contracts, and it is a special type of decentralized database. It also concluded that the pillars of the smart contract, such as the formulation, the contracting parties, and the subject of the contract are in essence compatible with the pillars of the contract in Islamic jurisprudence. The legality of smart contracts used in the blockchain is determined by the smart contract through which they are made, and the legal ruling for conducting contracts using the blockchain follows the contract that is done through it. The principle in these contracts and the contractual conditions based on them is that they are permissible as long as they do not violate Shari’a when concluding them via blockchain. Conclusions: The researchers recommend examining the possibility of benefiting from blockchain technology in developing financing formulas in Islamic banks.

A lightweight approach to smart contracts supporting safety, security, and privacy

The concept of smart contract represents one of the most attractive uses of blockchain technology and has the advantage of being transparent, immutable, and corruption-free. However, blockchain is a highly resource demanding technology. The ambition of this paper is to propose a new approach for defining lightweight smart contracts, offering a high level of trust even without blockchain, when the underlying operating system can be trusted. Blockchain can be used for a higher degree of trust, for instance when the runtime system cannot be trusted. The approach gives transparency and immutability, and gives protection against corrupted or incorrect smart contract implementations. This is achieved by letting smart contract requirement specifications be separated from the smart contract implementations, provided by special objects, so-called history objects, recording all transactions of the associated contract. The history objects are generated by the runtime system as specially protected objects. Contract partners may interact with the history objects through predefined interfaces.We present a framework which includes an executable, imperative language for writing smart contracts, a functional language for contract specifications by means of invariants over the transaction history of a contract, as well as a verification system. The framework allows compositional and class-wise verification. A history object can provide runtime checking of specified behavioral properties of the contract, and can provide safety, security, and privacy control, as well as trusted transfer of assets. We demonstrate the approach on an auction system.

A Secure and Trusted Fog Computing Approach based on Blockchain and Identity Federation for a Granular Access Control in IoT Environments

Fog computing is a new computing paradigm that is an extension of the standard cloud computing model, which can be adopted as a cost effective strategy for managing connected objects , by enabling real-time computing and communication for analytical and decision making. Nonetheless, even though Fog-based Internet of Things networks optimize the standard architecture by moving computing, storage, communication, and control decision closer to the edge network, the technology becomes open to malicious attackers and remains many business risks that are not yet resolved. In fact, access control, privacy as well as trust risks present major challenges in Internet of Things environments based on Fog computing due to the large scale distributed nature of devices at the Fog layer. In addition, the traditional authentication methods are not adequate in Fog-based Internet of Things contexts since they consume significantly more computation power and incur high latency. To deal with these gaps, we present in this paper a secure and trusted Fog Computing approach based on Blockchain and Identity Federation technologies for a granular access control in IoT environments. The proposed scheme uses Smart Contract concept and Attribute-Based Access Control model to ensure the level of security and scalability required for data integrity without resorting to a central authority to make an access decision.

Konsep Kontrak Pintar Dan Potensinya Terhadap Transaksi Pembiayaan Berasaskan Tawarruq

A contract is an important concept to enable a transaction without jeopardizing the rights and security of the transaction’s parties. Its implementation varies either through traditional or modern methods. To date, the smart contract gains attention among industry players and academicians. It is a modern technological innovation that can execute a contract by utilizing a blockchain network. In particular, the researchers view that smart contracts can be adapted in products offering based on various Shariah contracts in Islamic banking institutions, such as financing products based on the tawarruq contract. Nevertheless, it requires detailed research in terms of concept and structure to measure its potential to integrate with Islamic banking operations. Therefore, this study will examine the smart contract concept as well as identify its advantages for Islamic banking institutions’ operations, particularly in tawarruqbased financing products. A qualitative approach based on library studies concerning relevant documents and literature are implemented to achieve these objectives. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive content analysis methods. The results found that the smart contract is a contract innovation based on blockchain technology that can implement tawarruq-based financing products terms automatically, decentralized, and distributed manner. Thus, its thorough implementation can reduce the risk of faults in transactions and potentially ensure the transparency of transactions’ is well-preserved. However, further research on the risks associated with this technology, especially Shariah risks, needs to be clarified before being fully integrated into Islamic banking operations.

Regulation of the Smart Contract in (Romanian) Civil Law

The research aims to organize, examine, and analyze the provisions on smart contracts available in Romanian civil law. “Smart contracts” are not smart, and are not necessarily contracts, although they can be. As self-executing computer programs, smart contracts are operational on the blockchain and unlike traditional legal contracts, once the agreement has been concluded and the smart contract is set in motion, no party can intervene and it will be executed without interruption, modification, or breach. The crucial question in the final contract law topic is what happens when the smart contract's outcomes deviate from those required by law. To answer this issue, we must first understand that whether a smart contract becomes legally enforceable is determined by several circumstances, together with the unique use case, the type of smart contract employed, and the existing legislation. The paper addresses the subject of determining and regulating smart contracts under Romanian current laws. Particular emphasis is placed on two ambiguous definitions of smart contracts: as computer code and as a civil-law contract. The authors conclude that the concept of smart contracts requires more legal regulation, particularly in terms of managing their meaning and comprehension.

SmartMedChain: A Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Smart Healthcare Framework.

Nowadays, the adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technology worldwide is accelerating the digital transformation of healthcare industry. In this context, smart healthcare (s-healthcare) solutions are ensuring better and innovative opportunities for healthcare providers to improve patients' care. However, these solutions raise also new challenges in terms of security and privacy due to the diversity of stakeholders, the centralized data management, and the resulting lack of trustworthiness, accountability, and control. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end Blockchain-based and privacy-preserving framework called SmartMedChain for data sharing in s-healthcare environment. The Blockchain is built on Hyperledger Fabric and stores encrypted health data by using the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a distributed data storage solution with high resiliency and scalability. Indeed, compared to other propositions and based on the concept of smart contracts, our solution combines both data access control and data usage auditing measures for both Medical IoT data and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) generated by s-healthcare services. In addition, s-healthcare stakeholders can be held accountable by introducing an innovative Privacy Agreement Management scheme that monitors the execution of the service in respect of patient preferences and in accordance with relevant privacy laws. Security analysis and experimental results show that the proposed SmartMedChain is feasible and efficient for s-healthcare environments.

Smart contract sharding with proof of execution

Nowadays,Decentralized Networks based on Blockchain technology are actively researched. A special place in these researches is occupied by Smart Contracts that are widely used in many areas, such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi), real estate, gambling, electoral process, etc. Nevertheless, the possibility of their widespread adoption is still not a solved problem. This is caused by the fact of their limited flexibility and scalability. In other words, Smart Contracts cannot process a large number of contract calls per second, lack of direct Internet access, inability to operate with a large amount of data, etc. This article is devoted to the development of the Sharding Concept for Decentralized Applications (DApps) that are expressed in form of Smart Contracts written in WebAssembly. The aim of the research is to offer a new Concept of Smart Contract that will increase the scaling due to applying the idea of Sharding that allows avoiding doing the same work by all nodes on the Network and flexibility due to thepossibility of interaction with the Internet without special Oracles.During the research, decentralized 0ata storages with the possibility of collective decision-making were developed. The scheme of forming Drives that assumes that each Contract is executed by a set of randomly selected nodes that allows avoiding cahoots and prevents Sybil Attack is offered. Such an approach allowed using Drives as a base layer for Smart Contracts. Moreover, Drives can be used as a standalone solution for decentralized data storing.The features of coordination of results of Contracts execution that greatly expands the possibilities of the Contracts compared to Ethereum Smart Contracts, and, in particular, allow the Contracts to interact with the Internet are described. The Rewards Concept that incentivizes all nodes that honestly execute the Contracts, unlike other systems where only the block producer is rewarded, is developed. It is based on the specially developed Proof of Execution –a special algorithm that allows detecting all the nodes that honestly execute the Contracts. In order to make the Proof of Execution more compact, an extension for the existing discrete logarithm zero-knowledge proofs that makes it possible to consistentlyprove knowledge of dynamically expanding set of values with minimal computational and memory complexity so-called Cumulative Discrete Logarithm Zero-Knowledge Proof is developed.Thus, in this article, the new concept of Smart Contracts Sharding empowered by economic leverages is researched. The main advantages of the proposed approach are the possibility of interaction with the Internet and big data processing. Moreover, the mechanism of incentivizing nodes to honestly execute the Smart Contracts is developed. In addition, the Cumulative Proof that is necessary for the cryptographic strength of the specified mechanism is offered and its correctness is proven. The obtained results can be used to implement Smart Contracts in decentralized systems, in particular, working on the basis of Blockchain technology, especially in the case of demanding high bandwidth and performance.

Blockchain-enabled fog resource access and granting

Fog computing is a new computing paradigm for meeting ubiquitous massive access and latency-critical applications by moving the processing capability closer to end users. The geographical distribution/floating features with potential autonomy requirements introduce new challenges to the traditional methodology of network access control. In this paper, a blockchain-enabled fog resource access and granting solution is proposed to tackle the unique requirements brought by fog computing. The smart contract concept is introduced to enable dynamic, and automatic credential generation and delivery for an independent offer of fog resources. A per-transaction negotiation mechanism supports the fog resource provider to dynamically publish an offer and facilitates the choice of the preferred resource by the end user. Decentralized authentication and authorization relieve the processing pressure brought by massive access and single-point failure. Our solution can be extended and used in multi-access and especially multi-carrier scenarios in which centralized authorities are absent.

The concept of smart contract from a civil law perspective: An analytical study: مفهوم العقد الذكي من منظور القانون المدني: دراسة تحليلية

Contract law is the most developed area to confront modern technologies, including smart contracts, which may raise some legal problems when applied in practice due to the automatic implementation mechanism. Therefore, the research aimed at presenting the concept of a smart contract and its origin, and identifying its legal characteristics and nature, along with an indication of the problems that it could raise. We have concluded with a set of results, including: There is no unified definition of a smart contract that has the feature of automatic implementation of the terms agreed upon by the parties through computer programs. Hence, it is not possible to amend the contract in case of emergency circumstances or to cancel it in case of force majeure. Moreover, it is difficult to determine the necessary eligibility of the contracting parties, in addition to the difficulty of interpreting the smart contract due to its writing in a programming language that the judges and lawyers cannot understand which leads the courts to seek the assistance of experts to interpret it. That is why we recommended the necessity of developing unified legislation to regulate the smart contract, and establishing centers for training judges to enable them to understand the language in which this contract is written to interpret it in the event of a dispute between its parties. In addition to modifying the block chain platform to make the smart contract flexible and subject to change similar to traditional contracts.

Smart Contracts for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Conceptual Frameworks for Supply Chain Maturity Evaluation and Smart Contract Sustainability Assessment

Current research on smart contracts focuses on technical, conceptual, and legal aspects but neglects organizational requirements and sustainability impacts. We consider this a significant research gap and explore the relationship between smart contracts and sustainability in supply chains. First, we define the concept of smart contracts in terms of supply chain management. Then, we conduct a content analysis of the literature to explore the overlapping research fields of smart contracts and sustainability in supply chains. Next, we develop a semi-structured assessment framework to model the potential environmental and social impacts induced by smart contracts on supply chains. We propose a conceptual framework for supply chain maturity by mapping the relationships between organizational development, sustainability, and technology. We identify smart contracts as a foundational technology that enables efficient and transparent governance and collaborative self-coordination of human and non-human actors. Thus, we argue that smart contracts can contribute to the economic and social development of networked value chains and Society 5.0. To stimulate interdisciplinary research on smart contracts, we conclude the article by formulating research propositions and trade-offs for smart contracts in the context of technology development, business process and supply chain management, and sustainability.

Hybrid Approaches for Smart Contracts in Land Administration: Lessons from Three Blockchain Proofs-of-Concept

The emergence of “blockchain” technology as an alternative data management technique has spawned a myriad of conceptual and logical design work across multiple industries and sectors. It is also argued to enable operationalisation of the earlier “smart contract” concept. The domain of land administration has actively investigated these opportunities, albeit also largely at the conceptual level, and usually with a whole-of-sector or “big bang” industry transformation perspective. Less reporting of applied case applications is evident, particularly those undertaken in collaboration with practicing land sector actors. That said, pilots and test cases continue to act as a basis for understanding the relative merits, drawbacks, and implementation challenges of the smart contract concept in land administration. In this vein, this paper extends upon and further refines the existing discourse on smart contracts within the land sector, by giving an updated, if not more nuanced, view of example applications, opportunities, and barriers. In contrast to the earlier works, a hybrid solution that mixes smart contract use with existing technology infrastructure—enabling preservation of the role of a land registry agency as the ultimate arbiter of valid claims—is proposed. This is hypothesised to minimise disruptions, whilst maximising the benefits. Examination of proof-of-concept work on smart contract and blockchain applications in Sweden, Australia (State of New South Wales), and Canada (Province of British Columbia) is undertaken. Comparative analysis is undertaken using several frameworks including: (i) business requirements adherence, (ii) technology readiness and maturity assessment, and (iii) strategic grid analysis. Results show that the hybrid approach enables adherence to land dealing business requirements and that the proofs-of-concept are a necessary step in the development trajectory. Furthering the uptake will likely depend on again taking a whole-of-sector perspective, and attending to remaining issues around business models, stakeholder acceptance, partnerships and trust building, and legal issues linked to data decentralisation and security.