Рreliminary Agreement and Related Contractual Constructions

The article is devoted to identifying similarities and differences between a preliminary agreement and related legal structures (framework agreement, smart contract, option). For these purposes, the author analyzes the preliminary contract, the framework contract, the smart contract, as a result of which, as well as on the basis of the comparative method and the modeling method, he comes to the conclusion that the structures of the option, the framework contract are duplicated in relation to the preliminary contract, at the same time proving that this shortcoming can be eliminated by reforming the preliminary contract. The author concludes that a preliminary contract is a generalized concept that includes various legal relations aimed at their organization in the future, necessary to generate certain legal consequences, in particular legal relations associated with the conclusion of the main contract. In this regard, the article formulated a proposal on the possibility of creating a single special contractual structure of a preliminary contract, combining the features of an option and a framework contract. In addition, the article formulates recommendations on supplementing the current legislation with norms on the possibility of concluding a preliminary contract in blockchain-based systems.