Legaltech in Digital Economy and Legal Regulating Economic Activity of Citizens

Abstract

In the paper on the basis of legislation and doctrine the categories of “digital economy”, “legaltech”, “economic activity of citizens” are studied. The conclusion that the digital economy is a system of elements, among which digital technology is the key. Digital technologies are named according to their application in the economy, for example, legaltech (legal/legal technology), fintech (financial technology), etc. It is common to understand legaltech as a narrow toolkit for lawyers. The author argues for an expansive interpretation of legaltech as a multidimensional phenomenon in the form of a palette of digital services in various areas for a wide range of subjects of economic activity. The trends and risks associated with the introduction and use of legaltech are identified. The trends include the replacement of legal professionals by robots. At the same time, new niches based on information technology are emerging. The potential for the development of machine-readable law is evident, provided that the legal conceptual apparatus is adapted in advance. There is a need to create norms of “platform law” for the purpose of legal regulation of economic activity. Among the risks in the use of legaltech tools should be noted the large-scale use of Big Data, provoking the invasion of the private sphere of citizens. The concept of legaltech as a modern digital tool of legal regulation of economic activity, including economic activity of citizens, mediated by the relationship between entities and state (municipal) bodies is formulated. In this aspect, based on the classical understanding of legal means in the mechanism of legal regulation, from the perspective of the instrumental-legal approach legaltech in relation to the subjects of economic activity acts as: a resource for improving legal and information literacy; a factor of information and legal impact on the choice of the legal regime of economic activity; an incentive for the performance of contractual obligations, tax obligations and in general lawful behavior; a means of state control over the activities of subjects of economic activity.