The legal nature of the option to conclude a contract and the option contract.

The option to enter into a contract (Article 429.2 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and the option contract (Article 429.3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), introduced into the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as part of the reform of civil legislation, represent legal constructs that broadly regulate the relations of choice. In particular, the option to enter into a contract and the option contract represent legal constructs that allow for the regulation of social relations related to the emergence and transfer of the right of choice from one party to the change in the legal status of the other party. The subject of the study primarily includes the norms of Russian legislation, judicial practice, and scientific research by domestic scholars and practitioners related to the legal constructs of the option to enter into a contract and the option contract. The methodology and research methods consist of general scientific and special research methods. In particular, the systemic method, methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as the formal-legal method have contributed to revealing the legal nature of the elements of the constructs and establishing the legal connection between them. The author argues that the option to enter into a contract should be considered an agreement that establishes a special (temporary) regime for the action of the offer, which entails the application of the legally established period for acceptance (including by agreement and law) and allows for the possibility of transferring the right to conclude a contract. In turn, the option contract represents an agreement modifying the procedure for the performance of an existing obligation for a certain period by introducing a special (temporary) regime of performance, under which the debtor is obliged to fulfill the obligation at the request of the authorized party. Unlike other approaches to the legal nature of options, the concept of special (temporary) legal regimes allows for the consideration of options constructs in a broad sense, determining the legal consequences for the offer or obligation upon the termination of the corresponding option.