Modeling the dynamics of contractual relations

Cristine Griffo; Lauro César Araujo; Samuel Meira Brasil Jr; Mamede-Lima Marques; Giancarlo Guizzardi; João Paulo A Almeida

doi:10.3389/frai.2023.1042319

Modeling the dynamics of contractual relations

Front Artif Intell. 2023 Apr 11:6:1042319. doi: 10.3389/frai.2023.1042319. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Cristine Griffo¹, Lauro César Araujo², Samuel Meira Brasil Jr³, Mamede-Lima Marques⁴, Giancarlo Guizzardi^{1

5}, João Paulo A Almeida⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Computer Science, Research Centre for Knowledge and Data (KRDB), Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy.
² Center for Data Processing of the Federal Senate, Prodasen, Brazilian Government, Brasília, Brazil.
³ Court of Justice of the State of Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil.
⁴ Modal Institute for Science Technology and Innovation, Brasília, Brazil.
⁵ Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands.
⁶ Department of Computer Science, Ontology and Conceptual Modeling Research Group (NEMO), Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitoria, Brazil.

Abstract

Contracts usually have clauses that enable contracted parties to adjust their contractual positions in time, e.g., to relieve another party from duty or to grant new permission. This is especially important in long-running service relations, which require contracts to be adjusted to accommodate new or unforeseen circumstances. Despite that, the representation of dynamic aspects of contractual relations has not been given enough attention in the literature. In this study, we address this gap by employing the notions of legal power and legal subjection. We propose an ontological analysis of unilateral contractual changes based on a well-founded legal core ontology that adopts a relational perspective for legal positions. We present a case study to show the benefits of representing different types of contractual changes and how these changes can impact contractual dynamics. The case study is based on recent changes to WhatsApp terms of service.

Keywords: UFO; UFO-L; contract dynamics; contractual changes; legal power; legal relation; unilateral contractual changes.

Grants and funding

This research was partly funded by the Brazilian funding agencies CNPq (313687/2020-0), FAPES (281/2021, 1022/2022), and Foundations of Next-Generation Ontology-Driven Conceptual Modeling (NeXON) project - CUP: I54I19001060005.