ELI Principles on Blockchain Technology, Smart Contracts and Consumer Protection

The project started in 2018 following a Use-Case Approach (i.e. a descriptive and up-close exploratory examination of how a blockchain could function in a real-world context) to understand how blockchains and Smart Contracts might be used in practice. However, developments were moving so fast that sometimes, shortly after a use-case was presented, the experience gained from such a case was already surpassed by later developments. Thus, the Reporters, and the Project Team, decided to focus more on the legal aspects of blockchains and Smart Contracts, both in a commercial and a consumer setting and to develop corresponding theories, which could ultimately result in Principles. Before theories were formulated as Principles, they were tested against known use-cases to ensure their practicability.