The third issue of the 2019 journal of law and digital economy was published
Oleg A. Gorodov Digital legal relations: what type can they be attributed to and their essence
Тhe article provides analysis of the rules of the current legislation which introduce into the civil circulation a new civil object – the digital rights. The elements of digital legal relations are shown and some aspects are discussed concerning their qualification at the present development stage of domestic legislation.
Maria A. Egorova On the concept of cryptocurrency in European laws – takeaways for Russia
The article briefly discusses the current approaches to the legal regulation of cryptocurrencies in the European legislation. The approach to determining the nature and legal status of cryptocurrencies in the EU is radically different. ,the author concludes that cryptocurrency is a peer-to-peer, private, anonymous and decentralized network operating independently of the banking system or government.
Fabrice Rosa The contract of employment under the test of the digital economy
Like its neighbors, at the turn of the 20th century France adopted an «industrial legislation », with a view to providing an adequate legal framework for subordinate labor relations. The formally egalitarian contractual model of the 1804 Civil Code had become too narrow to integrate the specifics of a relationship largely shaped by the unilateral and exorbitant power of the employer. Labor law as a whole, and later the law of social security, were thought up with this situation, strongly tinged with de facto inequality and legal dominance, in mind. Hence the setting up, in the 1930s, of qualificatory criteria for the employment contract, purportedly taking into account the power of the employer. Since then, the employment contract has been defined as the contract by which a person works for others, for a fee, in a relationship of legal subordination. This subordinate relationship is in turn conceptualized as the power of the employer to issue orders and directives, to control their execution and to punish the failings of his or her subordinate .
However, the terms of the analysis seem to be going through a sea-change under the stress-test of the development of the so-called “collaborative” economy. In fact, the very concept of a collaborative economy is being critically challenged as it henceforth covers so wide a range of activities. Some people prefer the term “digital economy” or “platform economy”. The purpose of this article is not to propose a conceptual definition of such phenomena, but to identify the impact of some segments of these activities on the future of social law, and more specifically on the identification of the employment contract in France.
The activities envisaged are those involving a transformation of the typical wage relationship in which an employer provides work, the object, aims and means of realization of which are defined by him or her, for an employee directly under his or her subordination. Precisely, the model promoted by the platforms circumvents such a relationship since the platform operator figures as a simple intermediary between the worker and the platform user. All the technical advances characteristic of the digital economy (mobile “applications”, algorithm) are mobilized to shift the burden of the risks inherent to the activity on to the worker.
Efim Y. Tokar, introduction of digital law instruments in entrepreneurial activities in Russia
The article presents conclusions of research of some digital law areas in regulation of entrepreneurial activities; proposals for legitimation of a video power of attorney in terms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation; introduction of digital law elements in the notarial system, arbitration and administrative proceedings.
Mikhail S. Azarov Risks related to the use of cryptocurrencies
The article presents the nature of cryptocurrency (technological, financial and legal components); emphasizes that the legal status of cryptocurrency in the Russian Federation has not yet been determined; analyzes the risks associated with cryptocurrency activity, and assesses possible ways to regulate cryptocurrency in the Russian Federation.
Clara Coudert Investment regulations for datacenters: the European economic area, a source of comparison for Russian tax policies, despite different legal frameworks
Since the emergence of digital economy, data processing activities have played a central role. From bitcoins, to web platforms, through posts on social networks and online payment of tax returns, all online and offline operations result from the collection, the aggregation, the use and the storage of data, under a digital form.
At the age of Big data, the processing of data has to be performed at an industrial level. For this reason, this activity is performed by technological fortresses, called datacenters. Those fortresses take the form of physical infrastructures made up of servers that continuously host, treat and broadcast digital data both for businesses and individuals. In many countries, the specificity of this activity has led it to be listed as a specific economic category. Both in Europe and in Russia, the activity falls under category “63.11” for the classification of productive economic activitie
Despite the specificity of the European legal framework – which will be clarified and illustrated through court decisions – the details of the devices enacted are of interest for Russian authorities, that have showed their interest in fostering investment in datacenters. There is an evidence of this, in the recent tax incentive enacted in 2018 by the city of Saint-Petersburg
Marietta D. Shapsugova Trusted spaces and identification of the entrepreneur in digital economy
With the approach of the fourth industrial revolution, alienation of the real and virtual (electronic) personality of the entrepreneur begins. Interaction in the electronic environment makes the issues of trust the identification of subjects of interaction relevant. The article examines the impact of the digital economy on citizen identity. Making deals in the digital environment necessitates building a trusted space in it. About one of the elements of this space is the identification of the contracting parties. The question of the citizen’s right to identity in connection with the identification of emerging institution in the digital environment, a way of affirming the identity, citizen alienation from his identity.