Digital Assets in Scots Private Law

Abstract

This paper sets out some of the main areas of legal uncertainty in accommodating digital assets within Scots private law. It suggests some analyses for fitting them within existing legal principles and areas where reform might be needed to allow that fit or give certainty to the commercial actors who use them. The paper builds on work done by the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (“UKJT”) in their “Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts” (2019) and by the Law Commission of England and Wales in their ongoing project on electronic trade documents and digital assets.

It proposes that digital assets are best analysed as species of corporeal thing in Scots property law.

Keywords: Digital assets, Cryptoassets, Property Law, Scotland, UKJT

JEL Classification: K11, K22