Do laws regarding election and voting processes apply to decision-making within a DAO?

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Italy
  • Italy

Italy

To date, there are no laws or regulations regarding the
legal status of DAOs; therefore, no specific elections
and voting processes rules are applicable other than
those decided by the founders/members of a DAO and
set forth within the applicable smart contract. Then,
those rules will be implemented automatically based
on the inputs entered into the applicable smart
contract. Furthermore, it is and it will be a matter of
debate and discussion whether a DAO can be
incorporated in one or more of the legal entities types
provided by the Italian Civil Code (e.g., companies,
partnerships, associations) because of uncertainty as
to whether the operating mechanisms of a specific
legal form may coexist with the technical operating
mechanisms of a DAO (e.g., how shares in a joint stock
company may be embedded in DAO tokens, how the
participations in a DAO can be exchanged in the stock
market, how board of directors’ rules may be coexist
with decentralized management and governance of a
DAO, etc.). As of today, there are no grounds to affirm
that a DAO can be incorporated in one of the Italian
legal entities recognized by law without a new
regulation.

Lydia Mendola

IP lawyer

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