The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal risks that arise for the seller when concluding and executing retail sales contracts. It examines the specific features of the legal regulation of these relations and identifies legislative issues that create the potential for consumer abuse. Special attention is given to the analysis of legal asymmetry in retail sales contracts, disproportionately high penalties, the practice of obtaining double compensation, the seller’s responsibility for defects caused by the buyer, and the use of consumer legislation for unjustifi ed benefi ts. Based on the analysis of judicial practice and doctrinal approaches, the article proposes specific legal mechanisms for protecting the seller’s interests, including the legislative establishment of criteria for unfair consumer behavior and the improvement of judicial evidence assessment mechanisms in consumer disputes.

   The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal regulation of pricing in the fi eld of food supply in the Russian Federation.

   Particular attention is paid to controversial issues related to the inclusion in the price of the supply contract of compensation for the buyer's costs for logistical operations — the supply and cleaning of wagons, unloading of goods.

   Based on the analysis of the norms of civil, transport and antimonopoly legislation, judicial practice and scientifi c sources, it is concluded that these actions can be qualifi ed as logistics services, however, it is emphasized that their inclusion in the "remuneration" within the meaning of Article 9 of the Law on Trade carries risks of violating the prohibition on discriminatory conditions and exceeding the maximum amount of remuneration.

   The author focuses on current but basic issues in obligation law with an emphasis on supply, construction and service contracts. The paper examines temporal changes in the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on certain types of contractual obligations and provisions of public procurement legislation. The article analyses questions related to public-contract conclusion and modifi cation framework, using civil law as a reference point. This chapter argues that there is temporal collision between Civil Code and current procurement legal framework. The concept of Civil Code is regulation of contract law based on its subject. It was relevant to civil law regulation in the 1990s. Actually, in fact, public procurement legislation takes fi rst place, because of complex regulation of various contractual obligations within the framework of one federal law. Over the past 20 years, public procurement legislation has developed in a direction diametrically opposed to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the essence of which is the unification of individual obligations under the concept of a contract-transaction at the level of a single special federal law. Paper takes up measures to ensure the current issues.

   The issue of the admissibility of including human reproductive biomaterials temporarily separated from his body during the use of assisted reproductive technologies in the subject of contracts aimed at the transfer of ownership is subject to research. The article substantiates the position according to which neither singular nor universal succession is allowed in relation to germ cells, tissues of reproductive organs, as well as embryos obtained during the provision of medical services using ART. It has been established that the separation of the reproductive biomaterial from the human body (the originator) accompanies the infertility treatment of a couple or a single woman and does not pursue the goal of creating an object of law. The originator's object of interest is not a reproductive biomaterial that is temporarily separated from his body, but a medical organization's service that consists of performing a set of medical interventions aimed at preventing, diagnosing, and treating infertility. The persons from whom the reproductive biomaterial originates exercise control not over the biomaterial, but over their health, which results in a certain fate of germ cells and embryos in vitro. It is proved that the reproductive biomaterial lacks marketability properties, it is inextricably linked with the personality of the patients (recipients) undergoing treatment.

   The practice of Russian courts, developed over 30 years of application of Part II of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, has led to the emergence of the phenomenon of security ownership. In buyout leases and sale and purchase agreements with a clause reserving title for the seller, the owner's title serves for the creditor only as security for the debtor's performance of the debt payment obligation. Considering this, when regulating security ownership, Russian courts are increasingly resorting to the application of pledge law rules by analogy, arguing that the legal status of the pledgor and the creditor using the title security is identical. Security ownership, existing within certain contractual structures, inevitably raises the question of its content and the admissibility of applying the provisions of Section II of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation to regulate it. This article attempts to analyze the impact of the security function of ownership on the application of general rules for determining the owner of movable property arising from specification.

   The author analyzes contracts for research, development, and engineering work used in the development of artifi cial intelligence and related artificial intelligence technologies. Drawing on civil law methodological approaches, the author identifi es the qualifying features of AI and TII that determine the specifics of the content and execution of R&D contracts aimed at developing these high-tech systems. The author examines the legal statusт of the customer performing work under R&D contracts used in the field of AI and TII creation. Given the specifi cs of this status, the need for the customer to develop technical specifi cations is substantiated. It is noted that, due to the complex structure of AI and TII, work under R&D contracts must be performed by the contractor independently, without the involvement of third parties. The author analyzes legislative approaches to determining whether the customer or contractor owns the exclusive right to the result of intellectual activity created under R&D contracts. The need to include in R&D contracts a condition on the customer's exclusive right to the developed AI (TII) is substantiated.

   The primary thing in establishing relations based on any civil law transaction is to come to an agreement that constitutes the mutual agreement of the will of the parties. With the growing number of ongoing clinical trials, it is important to consider in detail the key terms of the agreement concluded with the contractor and the organizer of the study, as an initial fact that affects the conditions for the emergence of other relationships affecting a significant number of citizens who subsequently participate in this study. A detailed study of the subject matter of the contract for conducting a clinical trial of a medicinal product for medical use is relevant to increase the effectiveness of ongoing research, ensure legal certainty and compliance with ethical standards. This paper highlights the main civil approaches that have developed regarding the defi nition of the subject of a civil law contract in general and a contract for conducting a clinical trial in particular, and describes the problem of uncertainty in the establishment and approval of this essential condition. The author attempts to identify a set of specific parameters included in the subject, allowing us to talk about the conclusion of the transaction, and concludes that the complex nature of the condition under consideration includes, for the parties to have rights and obligations, the need to coordinate the design of the study, the name of the medicinal product as an object of research, the purpose of the study and the obtained result.

   This article analyzes the legal foundations for shaping the technological sovereignty of the Russian Federation in the context of global competition and contemporary challenges.

   The current goal of legislators in the scientific and technological sphere is the need to build a unified, coordinated legal system capable of managing complex processes, ranging from fundamental scientific research to the introduction of high-tech products into civil circulation.

   The author identifi es the legal ambiguity of the term "technology" in doctrine and current Russian legislation and concludes that this is due to different models of legal regulation. The key role of contracts for research, development, and technological work in regulating legal relations in the technological sphere is analyzed. The importance of a systems approach is substantiated, which requires building a unified, comprehensive system of legal regulation of relations in the technological sphere, where technology is defined as a holistic and manageable system, and objects, including equipment, are its components. The article concludes by proposing specific legislative amendments aimed at unifying terminology and increasing legal certainty in the field of technological development.

   In order to determine the legal nature of the consignment agreement, the norms of various agreements in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation are analyzed, and is made a conclusion about consignment as a type of intermediary services. Based on the basic provisions of the science of civil law, the author considers the peculiarities of the contractual construction of consignment as a special type of commission agreement. The scope and constitutive features of the consignment agreement are considered, separating it from the classic contractual design of the commission and determining the main scope of the consignor (intermediary) — transactions in the field of wholesale trade. It is concluded that it is necessary to consolidate the legal mechanism of the consignor's participation in civil circulation and establish rules for him to make transactions with third parties on his own behalf, but at the expense of the consignee (owner of the goods) according to the indirect representation model.

   The article examines the essence and signifi cance of the legal institution of acting in someone else's interest without authorization, taking into account the positions of judicial practice, that have developed over a 30-year period of application of the provisions of Chapter 50 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The analysis reveals a lack of uniformity in the understanding of a number of issues, in particular regarding the conditions necessary for qualifying actions as performed in the interest of another without authorization, the procedure for notifying an interested person, and acceptable options for expressing an opinion regarding actions performed for them. Attention is also paid to the criteria for the correlation of obligations from actions in another person's interest without authorization with similar legal categories, including obligations resulting from unjust enrichment, and to examining approaches to their assessment by judicial authorities. As a result, it is concluded that it is necessary to eliminate the identifi ed legal uncertainties and create conditions for the development of uniform and positive judicial practice.

   The development of autonomous fl eets is one of the most important modern trends, capable of radically transforming maritime and naval operations. We will examine this process in detail and analyze the potential implications of introducing unmanned technologies in the maritime sector. A paradigm shift is underway in commercial and military navigation, promising to improve safety, reduce environmental impact, and lower operating costs through the introduction of autonomous vessels. Unmanned vessels have recently become a topic of intense interest among maritime researchers. Numerous academic studies are focused on combining innovative solutions that allow ships to navigate oceans and seas without a crew on board and under remote control. Initiatives and projects aimed at realizing these ideas and developing global shipping are attracting signifi cant public attention. This article examines the future of unmanned vessels in the commercial and military sectors, also considering the potential challenges faced in operating such vessels. The article concludes that the introduction of autonomous vessels will increase their capacity, reduce crew costs, and signifi cantly lower operating costs by replacing human resources with advanced technology. Furthermore, replacing onboard crew with technology could improve safety in the maritime industry, as human error is often the cause of many incidents and accidents.

   The article examines the legal nature of the maritime agency agreement as a special type of intermediary contract used in maritime transport. Based on the analysis of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the author identifi es the main features, subject matter, and structure of this agreement, as well as its place within the system of civil law obligations. A comparative analysis is conducted between the maritime agency agreement and the general agency, commission, mandate, and freight forwarding agreements. Special attention is given to the territorial scope of the contract, the agent’s powers and limitations, and the protection of bona fi de third parties. The study concludes that the maritime agency agreement represents a specific form of agency contract with sectoral peculiarities, combining elements of both direct and indirect representation. The author emphasizes its bilateral, remunerative, and consensual nature, highlighting its importance for the legal regulation of maritime transport operations.

   The simple partnership agreement remains one of the least studied, yet most promising for widespread application. The regulation proposed in Chapter 55 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation leaves room for scholarly discussion, in particular regarding the composition of such an association, the purpose of its creation, the key characteristics defi ning such a group, and, accordingly, the possibility of identifying various associations as simple partnerships. Positions are explored regarding the classification of spouses, members of a peasant farm, parties to a corporate agreement, and other entities as simple partnerships.

   The author focuses specifically on the classification of a debtor's creditors as partnerships.

   This article proposes key features of the simple partnership agreement that distinguish this form of association from other forms of association (multiple participants, a common goal, mandatory contributions and personal management, etc.). These criteria are compared with the debtor's creditor community. A conclusion is proposed regarding the inadmissibility of perceiving the creditor community as participants in a simple partnership, with a justification for this position.

   Based on the analysis of legislative provisions, doctrinal positions, and established law enforcement practice, the author provides a legal qualification of the postal services agreement. The analysis covers the following aspects: the defi nition of the contract; its constitutive features; the parties involved; procedure for conclusion, essential terms and conditions; contractual content; and liability of the postal operator and the sender for breach of contractual obligations. It has been established that the defi ning characteristics specifi c to this contractual model are the subject matter of the contract and the specifi c composition of the contracting parties.

   A comparative legal analysis of the norms of the three codifications of civil legislation has been carried out. The infl uence of various doctrinal concepts on civil codes is revealed. Conclusions are drawn about the progressive development of civil law and legislation, the greater coverage of private law regulation of public relations and the development of their classifications, the expansion of the range of participants in legal relations (including public law and quasi-legal entities), the restructuring of the system of objects of civil rights (taking into account intangible assets, digital rights), changes in the law of obligations in the system of contractual and tort obligations, interpenetration and combination of private- and public law regulation, the humanization and socialization of private law, and the development of legal technology. Some shortcomings of the legal regulation are indicated and suggestions are made to overcome them. The trends in the development of the civil codifi ed legislation of Russia are designed to ensure the stability of the Russian state, the progress of society and the economy.

   The principle of freedom of contract can fully operate in relations between equal subjects. When determining the limits of freedom to choose the terms of contracts, including those concluded using digital platforms, both the current mandatory norms, their literal interpretation, and the interpretation of the terms of the contract based on the goals of legislative regulation of public relations and their substance are taken into account. Moreover, the trend of expanding the principle of freedom of contract is not unambiguous, since in the context of the digitalization of the economy, there is a certain degree of imbalance in the economic opportunities of various market participants. The economic opportunities of digital platform operators and their partners differ significantly, which affects the development of the provisions of current legislation and the defi nition of the limits of contractual freedom when concluding contracts using digital platforms. Digital platform operators can be considered as economically stronger entities than their partners, especially individual partners, which is inevitably refl ected in the trends in the development of legislation regulating the relations of the platform economy.

   The article discusses the controversial issues of the legal nature of self-executing transactions. It is proved that a smart contract is an algorithm that automates the execution of legally signifi cant and actual actions, subject to constant monitoring in accordance with the agreement of the parties and the regulatory requirements embedded in the program code. The use of digital tools for recording expressions of will, including software algorithms that create convincing evidence of the validity of an agreement, is being investigated. The authors conclude that a smart contract cannot be considered an independent form of contract, as a special algorithm, it helps automate the fulfillment of obligations under constant control and in strict accordance with the terms of the agreement embedded in the program code.

   Modern civil circulation is undergoing signifi cant changes under the influence of digitalization and technologization trends. The author points out that the key rules governing the dynamics of material assets were established thirty years ago with the adoption of Part II of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. In this regard, the author defi nes the legal essence of the civil-law category "civil circulation of digital objects" and its elements, including examining the specifi cs of fulfi lling obligations in the digital environment. The author identifi es the characteristic constituent features of civil circulation of digital objects, focusing in particular on the digital environment that generates the circulation of digital objects, as well as the technical accessibility of entities to participate in civil circulation of digital objects (the "digital barrier"). The author defi nes the civil circulation of digital objects as the process of moving objects in the digital environment between individuals and/or legal entities, public-law entities using information and communication technologies, such as the Internet, e-mail, e-commerce, electronic payments and other digital tools, to perform legally signifi cant actions, the purpose of which is not only to achieve a legally signifi cant result, but also to increase the accessibility, effi ciency and convenience of interaction between participants, as well as to ensure data security and protect the rights and interests of citizens in the digital environment.

   In the article based on the practice of Russian and foreign antimonopoly regulators in relation to traditional commodity markets, analyzes approaches to assessing the implementation of antimonopoly compliance measures in relation to liability measures that can be applied to such a person. Turning to the analysis of digital compliance and the specifi cs of merging banking and platform businesses, the author of the article tries to demonstrate the reasonableness of the current approach of the national antimonopoly authority, which is that the introduction of compliance by itself should not lead to mitigation of liability or non-application of such measures, since it is necessary to prove the actual functioning of compliance.

   The article examines the impact of scientifi c and technological development on the transformation of legal reality through the lens of a new interdisciplinary fi eld: legal memology (pravomemetics). The author notes the crisis of classical jurisprudence in the context of the emergence of a techno-reality characterized by the erosion of legal personality, the competition between positive law and algorithmic regulation, and the loss of temporal relevance of legislation. As a heuristically productive approach,V. V. Lazarev's methodology is proposed, which considers state and legal phenomena as evolving meme complexes — stable images and symbols that govern public consciousness. From the perspective of legal memetics, the key categories of scientifi c and technological policy are analyzed: “progress”, “potential”, “breakthrough”, “leadership”, and “sovereignty”. It is shown that these concepts are not neutral terms, but “viruses of meaning” that shape the values of law and society.

   Special attention is paid to the need for the “ontological inviolability” of the individual, which excludes the reduction of a person to an algorithmic profile.

   In conclusion, the need for a systemic legal policy is substantiated, which is designed not only to regulate risks, but also to act as a “selector of meanings” and a “vaccine” against destructive technogenic memes, ensuring the value-based and civilizational identity of the new technological reality.

   This article examines the rule governing the client's unjustified refusal to perform a contract. Given the general prohibition on unilateral refusal to perform a contract, the client's right to refuse a contract in the absence of any breach by the contractor deserves special attention. The existence of this rule in the law stems from the specifi c nature of contractual relationships, in which the client is the owner of the item transferred to the contractor for processing or modifi cation, and acquires ownership of the newly created item. The right to unjustifi ed refusal allows the client to freely determine the legal fate of their property even in the presence of a concluded contract, which they are seemingly obligated to comply with. Since the client's right to terminate a contract without justifi cation is an exception to the principle of contract compliance, the legislator has imposed certain property encumbrances on the client in the event of such refusal. This decision appears entirely fair, given that the contractor is typically an entrepreneur. The article analyzes similar provisions in German and French legislation, leading to the conclusion that this rule is relevant to civil transactions. The author examines the issue of whether the norm is mandatory or optional. Despite the clause "unless otherwise provided by the contract," the author concludes that the optionality of the norm should be limited: the parties cannot exclude the customer's right to terminate the contract without justifi cation or increase the statutory limit for damages, but they can change the procedure for exercising the right of termination or provide for other consequences of contract termination. This solution allows for a balance of interests between the customer and the contractor.

   This article examines the legal regime of non-residential premises owned by the state or municipality. The author off ers her own definition of the legal regime category and identifi es the main differences in the legal regulation of private and public premises. An analysis of law enforcement practices reveals the most common issues associated with the circulation of such real estate. These issues encompass difficult auction outcomes, confl icts over the priority right to renew a lease, disputes concerning the determination and modifi cation of rent, premature termination of leases and vacating properties, as well as non-competitive leasing of commercial spaces without auctions and the misuse of the priority right to acquire leased assets. The article also presents a proposal for improving Federal Law No. 159-FZ, which concerns the specifi cs of the alienation of movable and immovable property leased by small and medium-sized businesses and owned by the state or municipality. The article substantiates the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing these issues by developing a unified, systemic law regulating the circulation of non-residential premises.

   Georgy Nikitich Amfiteatrov is a well-known legal scholar, Doctor of Law, and Professor. He was born in 1899 in Belgorod, Kursk Province. In 1929, he graduated from the postgraduate program at the Institute of Soviet Law of the Russian Association of Research Institutes of Social Sciences (RANION). Since 1929, he taught civil law at the Faculty of Soviet Law at the 1st Moscow State University, headed the Department of Civil Law at the Moscow Law Institute (1931-1937), at the All-Union Legal Academy under the All-Union Central Executive Committee of the USSR (1936-1938), and at the Moscow State University (1945-1945). He also led the Department of Law at the Moscow Financial Economic Institute. From the late 1940s until 1950, G. N. Amfiteatrov headed the Department of Civil and Family Law at the All-Union Law Correspondence Institute (VUZI, now O.E. Kutafin University (MGUA)). The current issue of the journal publishes an extract from the book by G. N. Amfiteatrov "Rights to residential buildings and