Classification of shares in digital form under Russian civil law

a share can be issued as a digital financial asset, i.e. in digital form. Many theoretical and practical issues related to such shares have been little studied in civilistic theory, including the problem of classification. In addition, a systemic analysis of Russian legislation leads to the conclusion that there is a problem. Many legal provisions that establish the legal regime of shares in digital form have gaps and ambiguities. The object of the study is the political and legal practice related to shares in digital form, including regulatory legal acts and private law doctrine. The subject of the study is the essential features of shares in digital form, allowing to distinguish varieties and groups, and the relationship of different types with each other. The study is aimed at identifying the varieties of shares in digital form in lex lata and determining possible types in lex ferenda, and their systematization. The author has formed a classification of shares in digital form in lex lata on the following grounds: by the volume of rights granted to the shareholder (ordinary and preferred (cumulative and non-cumulative, various types according to the charter of the joint-stock company)); by the information system in which the issue and circulation is carried out (in a distributed registry and other information systems); by the possibility of splitting (fractional and whole). When modernizing Russian legislation in the future, lex ferenda may additionally include the following classification: depending on the possibility of conversion (convertible and non-convertible); by the issuer (public and non-public joint-stock companies (including people's enterprises and joint-stock investment funds)).

digital stock, digital financial asset, classification, conversion, splitting, information system