The Ricardian contract

Grigg, Ian

doi:10.1109/wec.2004.1319505

Cited by 59 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This accountability can be achieved through coupling them with legal prose. This is achievable through establishing so-called Ricardian contracts (Grigg, 2004) which can link the legal intent to smart contracts in the form of tuples: {legal prose, transaction parameters, smart contract code} (see Clack et al, 2016). Additionally, the design of a decentralized system comprised of Ricardian-style smart contracts should involve the definition of stakeholders, their rights and responsibilities, economic incentives and preferences, and what top-down or bottom-up changes will be required.…”

Section: How Are We Decentralizing With Blockchains?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Formal Scholarly Understanding of Blockchain-Mediated Decentralization: A Systematic Review and a Framework

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This work analyses blockchain-mediated decentralization based on a systematic review of the scholarly understanding of the term 'decentralization' across multiple disciplines from computer to political sciences, examining how its various meanings are reflected in popular discourse on blockchains and distributed ledgers. The paper aims to capture the rigorous cross-domain understanding of decentralization and its most important features, and to map the commonalities and differences between it and some closely related concepts such as distribution, disintermediation and peer-topeer (P2P). Across all domains, decentralization appears to be used as a solution to problems requiring non-trivial coordination across heterogeneous stakeholders. Blockchain-mediated decentralization appears to have unique characteristics reflecting an idiosyncratic set of authority-related values prevalent in so-called "crypto" online communities. Within blockchain space, the article argues against the binary positioning of "decentralization" and "centralization," proposing a dialectical approach and arguing that a system's authority allocation is a quality positioned on a spectrum between purely decentralized and completely centralized, noting how a blockchain setup could simultaneously both have facets that are significantly centralized and others that are not. The authors document their systematic review findings and propose a framework for understanding blockchain-mediated decentralization, suggesting a definition, and outlining new directions for further human-centric research into distributed ledger technologies and for designing decentralized ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: How Are We Decentralizing With Blockchains?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a Formal Scholarly Understanding of Blockchain-Mediated Decentralization: A Systematic Review and a Framework

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Programmatic contract drafting is another open research area. In this regard, we are currently exploring the notion of the Ricardian Contract, [39] where systems build and fill templates both for formal-language contracts intended for digital execution (whether on-or off-blockchain), and for natural-language, human-readable versions of the contracts. These contracts in natural languages (like the contract example of this paper) describe the same operational core but are intended to be signed on paper and legally binding.…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of Smart Contracts Using Hybrid Architectures with On and Off–Blockchain Components

Molina-Jiménez

Sfyrakis

Solaiman

et al. 2018

2018 IEEE 8th International Symposium on Cloud and Service Computing (SC2)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, decentralised (on-blockchain) platforms have emerged to complement centralised (off-blockchain) platforms for the implementation of automated, digital ("smart") contracts. However, neither alternative can individually satisfy the requirements of a large class of applications. On-blockchain platforms suffer from scalability, performance, transaction costs and other limitations. Off-blockchain platforms are afflicted by drawbacks due to their dependence on single trusted third parties. We argue that in several application areas, hybrid platforms composed from the integration of on-and off-blockchain platforms are more able to support smart contracts that deliver the desired quality of service (QoS). Hybrid architectures are largely unexplored. To help cover the gap, in this paper we discuss the implementation of smart contracts on hybrid architectures. As a proof of concept, we show how a smart contract can be split and executed partially on an off-blockchain contract compliance checker and partially on the Rinkeby Ethereum network. To test the solution, we expose it to sequences of contractual operations generated mechanically by a contract validator tool.

show abstract

“…The Ricardian contract, as defined by Grigg (2004), is a digital contract containing all of the terms and clauses as of a regular written contract, but it is readable both by people and by software. The document is digitally signed, and a unique and secure identifier, a cryptographic message digest or hash, is generated over the contents (see Figure 2).…”

Section: Ricardian Contractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, if the TCU has access to all the agencies' searchable contracts, it can also analyse and compare these documents for a more preventive and effective approach to fight corruption. The schema of a typical Ricardian contract (see online version for colours) Source: Grigg (2004) Ricardian contracts are a very important addition to our framework since the main sources of corruption are not the transactions per se, but are rather the activities around the payments: negotiations, agreements and deliveries that result in the misuse of public funds. Ricardian contracts afford parties the opportunity to define in full the meaning of their transactions, and to lock in that meaning to the transaction.…”

Section: Ricardian Contractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triple entry ledgers with blockchain for auditing

Simoyama¹,

Grigg²,

Bueno³

et al. 2017

IJAUDIT

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Legislation generally requires public agencies to account for their activity to the public. Among the many duties imposed by legislatures around the world are requirements for transparency in procurement of services, budgeting and presentation of accounts. However, agencies in countries with high corruption problems have trouble complying with the legislation, especially in smaller agencies. Moreover, it is typically infeasible for national auditors to audit all the accounts rendered, and instead, they select a small sample for audit based on their level of risk. Another problem is that the presentation of accounts occurs once a year for all agencies, leading to a seasonal demand with significant lag time between auditing and accounting period. In this study, we present a non-technical framework based on the emerging technology of blockchain that could be a solution to all these concerns. We apply it within the context of Brazilian legislation and the Federal Court of Accounts of Brazil (TCU), although the proposal is applicable across a wide range of countries facing severe corruption.

show abstract

The Ricardian contract

Cited by 59 publications

References 1 publication

Toward a Formal Scholarly Understanding of Blockchain-Mediated Decentralization: A Systematic Review and a Framework

Toward a Formal Scholarly Understanding of Blockchain-Mediated Decentralization: A Systematic Review and a Framework

Implementation of Smart Contracts Using Hybrid Architectures with On and Off–Blockchain Components

Triple entry ledgers with blockchain for auditing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About