Smart contract – how to present the evidence in the Polish civil procedure?

Transactions based on smart contracts are becoming increasingly common, which will eventually lead to situations where it will be necessary to provide evidence from a smart contract in civil disputes. The aim of the article is to indicate how to conduct evidence with a smart contract and attempt to identify problems that the court will have to face. Due to the fact that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure do not mention it among the specifically regulated means of evidence, there will be a need for its qualification. Undoubtedly, in the light of the definition from Article 77(3) of the Civil Code, a smart contract can be recognized as a document. However, in terms of procedural law, such evidence will have to be conducted based on Article 308 or Article 309 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The court conducting the evidentiary proceedings will have to specify the method of conducting evidence from a smart contract. This should be done by appropriately applying the provisions regulating evidence from a document or the provisions regulating evidence from an inspection. It seems that there is no need for another amendment of the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, and appropriate interpretation of existing provisions will suffice.

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