From Digitalization to Blockchain: The Legal Readiness of the Tender System
Abstract
Public procurement plays a key role in ensuring transparency and the efficient use of budget funds, and in the context of digitalization, the introduction of blockchain technologies (BCTs) is of particular importance. This issue is especially relevant for Kazakhstan, because despite the full digitalization of procurement through the Goszakup portal, significant legislative gaps remain. The purpose of the study is to assess the country’s legal readiness to use blockchain in public procurement, identify regulatory strengths and weaknesses, compare national and international practices, and develop recommendations for improving legislation. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development of a legal readiness model for blockchain in public procurement (LRM-PP) focused on legal conditions, including parameters related to the recognition of smart contracts, electronic digital signatures (EDSs) and digital identity, adaptability of procurement legislation, data protection, transparency and anticorruption standards, interoperability, dispute resolution, and institutional responsibility. The methodological framework includes a doctrinal analysis of national legislation, examination of international standards, and a comparative legal analysis of Estonia, the Republic of Korea, Colombia, and Ukraine, with reference comparators from Central Asia and the South Caucasus (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Georgia). The results show that, despite a high level of procurement digitalization, Kazakhstan demonstrates insufficient legal readiness: smart contracts lack a clearly defined legal status, there are no established rules for recognizing blockchain records as legal evidence or for ensuring data protection in distributed registries, and coordination among the Ministry of Finance, the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM), and the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) remains weak. For the successful implementation of blockchain technologies, it is necessary to consolidate the legal status of smart contracts, adapt personal data legislation to distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), develop technical standards, and strengthen interdepartmental coordination, which would enable blockchain to be used as an effective tool for enhancing transparency and reducing corruption risks.