Broken Contract
SXP will serve to Secure multi-party contracts. Thus, in case one party breaks the contract, another party can prove that the contract has been established. Still, for this to be of some effect, we need to find ways of:
- making sure that the contract gets accomplished in the end;
- making sure that all parties get their fair share;
- making sure that this does not happen again.
The are various ways of accomplishing subsets of these. SXP will not favour any of these a priori, but it will provide support for them. SXP contracts should specify the consequences of breaking a contract.
Trust systems
Examples: Couch surfing, e-Bay ratings. Parties have a reputation which they must not jeopardize; breaking a contract would tarnish it.
Insurance policies
Examples: Paypal, … The Virtual Market, or a third party entering the deal, may be paid by the parties in order to compensate for losses in case one of the parties breaks the deal.
Judiciary system, Arbitrage
Ultimately, the strength of the proof brought by SXP contracts may enable parties to turn to the judiciary system of their countries. Sometimes it is unclear which country has jurisdiction; this could be specified in the contract. Sometimes contracts can even designate a third party to arbitrage any eventual dispute.