# Hercule: Representing and Reasoning about Norms as a Foundation for Declarative Contracts over Blockchain

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.08355 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08355/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Apr 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Extracting Norms from Contracts Via ChatGPT: Opportunities and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.02269/) (2024)
- [Langshaw: Declarative Interaction Protocols Based on Sayso and Conflict](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.29601/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Current blockchain approaches for business contracts are based on smart contracts, namely, software programs placed on a blockchain that are automatically executed to realize a contract. However, smart contracts lack flexibility and interfere with the autonomy of the parties concerned. We propose Hercule, an approach for declaratively specifying blockchain applications in a manner that reflects business contracts. Hercule represents a contract via regulatory norms that capture the involved parties' expectations of one another. It computes the states of norms (hence, of contracts) from events in the blockchain. Hercule's novelty and significance lie in that it operationalizes declarative contracts over semistructured databases, the underlying representation for practical blockchain such as Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum. Specifically, it exploits the map-reduce capabilities of such stores to compute norm states. We demonstrate that our implementation over Hyperledger Fabric can process thousands of events per second, sufficient for many applications.