ABSTRACT
Generally, under the applicable law in Slovenia and Croatia, there is no requirement of a specific form to enter into a contract. Contrarily, a contract under which the title to real estate is transferred must be concluded in written form. The written form is provided as forma ad valorem – the contract that contravenes this rule is invalid. Only if the parties fully performed the contract, it could turn into a valid agreement, regardless of the lack of formality. The applicable law in both countries also contains special regulation of the electronic form and electronic documents.
The chapter firstly aims to analyse the aforementioned regulation, which is then, in the second part of the chapter, examined in the light of new technologies, mainly blockchain-based smart contracts. The chapter is dealing with the question of whether the contract in the form of the smart contract could meet the formality requirements. The chapter focuses on the necessity of legislative amendments in the case of smart contracts implementation. Findings of the comparison between the functionalities of the new technologies compared to the purpose behind positive formality rules could benefit the legislature in an event of future legislative changes in the field.
