Literature Review: Smart Contract Semantics <s> Introduction to the Problem <s> In this position paper, we consider some foundational topics regarding smart contracts (such as terminology, automation, enforceability, and semantics) and define a smart contract as an automatable and enforceable agreement. We explore a simple semantic framework for smart contracts, covering both operational and non-operational aspects, and describe templates and agreements for legally-enforceable smart contracts, based on legal documents. Building upon the Ricardian Contract, we identify operational parameters in the legal documents and use these to connect legal agreements to standardised code. We also explore the design landscape, including increasing sophistication of parameters, increasing use of common standardised code, and long-term research. <s> BIB001 </s> Literature Review: Smart Contract Semantics <s> Introduction to the Problem <s> Smart Contract Templates support legally-enforceable smart contracts, using operational parameters to connect legal agreements to standardised code. In this paper, we explore the design landscape of potential formats for storage and transmission of smart legal agreements. We identify essential requirements and describe a number of key design options, from which we envisage future development of standardised formats for defining and manipulating smart legal agreements. This provides a preliminary step towards supporting industry adoption of legally-enforceable smart contracts. <s> BIB002
Contracts are legally binding documents that govern agreements between some parties. Generally, they define obligations between parties, typically regarding the delivery of goods, the performance of services, or payments. Contracts are essential to business transactions across all industries, as well as private transactions amongst the general public. In this paper, the domain is limited strictly to financial derivatives contracts that have been generated from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Master Agreement template. Contracts are a crucial part of doing business. Consequently, businesses are heavily invested in the task of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). CLM encapsulates all the various processes and operations that go into supporting a contract throughout its life including: contract creation, negotiation, appoval, execution, and analysis. A study  by the Aberdeen Group found that 80% of businesses were manually performing some or all of these tasks. They found that standardising, formalising, and ultimately automating these processes would result in cost savings from greater efficiency. In their analysis of the global financial derivatives industry, ISDA had similar findings [3] . Therefore, there is a clear need for a solution that would allow us to automate some or all of these CLM processes. Smart contracts are a solution to this problem. Clack et al BIB001 BIB002 offer this definition of a smart contract: