Smart Contracts in the Private Law System: A Strategy for Overcoming Normative Uncertainty and Regulatory Prospects in Ukraine

Digital transformation and the implementation of distributed ledger technologies define contemporary trends in the development of private law, necessitating the formation of an appropriate legal environment capable of ensuring the efficiency of innovation by regulating the behavior of subjects within the digital space. Given that Ukraine is currently a global leader in blockchain technology adoption, this work represents an attempt to define the directions for adapting Ukrainian contract law to the challenges of algorithmization and automation. This article analyzes the impact of digital transformation on the fundamental institutions of Ukrainian contract law, using smart contracts as a primary element of blockchain technology. Research into the nature of smart contracts allows for the differentiation of the "smart legal contract" category, where contractual obligations are executed automatically by computer code. Based on a synthesis of technological understanding, practical implications (notably The DAO and Venus Protocol cases), and civil law theory, the work explores the deterministic nature of smart contracts (automatism, immutability, uniqueness) and examines their interaction with established categories such as party autonomy, good faith, and equivalence. Furthermore, the article applies a comparative analysis of three global regulatory strategies (analogy, radical restructuring through Lex Cryptographia, and moderate integration), involving international concepts from R. Crootof, B.J. Ard, G. Jaccard, and the ELI Principles on Blockchain Technology, Smart Contracts and Consumer Protection. Accordingly, it is concluded that the current stage of Ukrainian civil law development is characterized by the absence of a comprehensive legal infrastructure for smart contracts, leading to uncertainty regarding their legal nature and consequences. Under the influence of algorithmic determinism, traditional mechanisms of flexible regulation—such as contextual interpretation of contractual terms and retrospective adjustment of obligations in cases of changed circumstances or technical errors—lose their distinctiveness. This research proposes a comprehensive "roadmap" of reforms—from the adaptation of the Civil Code of Ukraine to the legalization of "expert oracle" mechanisms—aiming to facilitate further legal discussions on overcoming legal uncertainty and establishing Ukraine as one of the most progressive jurisdictions for digital innovation.