The evolving regulation of blockchain smart contracts looking at public services resilience for the sustainability of the healthcare and agrifood sectors

The pursuing of resilience and sustainability goals of communities and markets involves the digital transition of public services. Blockchain smart contracts by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) show a wide applicative potential within public services addressed to healthcare as well as agriculture and agri-food chain. Additionally, blockchain functionality could improve by the confluence of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The work, privileging the aspects of administrative law of public services such as those leading back to the principle of transparency, analyses this scenario and focuses the regulation path of smart contracts in Italy in the light of the complex and dynamic EU framework. Some debates, including the doctrinal framing, remain open. In 2021 AgID launched a blockchain infrastructure project; in 2023 AgID, according to the new Public Contracts Code, recalled smart contracts within the published technical requirements and certification methods for digital procurement platforms, while the EU activated a blockchain regulatory sandbox and recently approved the AI Act proposed in 2021. Many efforts towards a standardised regulation of smart contracts, either at EU or national level, are being profused, but they must hardly compare with the technological innovation speed and the parallel need to keep all the legal and administrative aspects under harmonic, secure, transparent and efficient control.