Автор, анализируя научные подходы и актуальную нормативную базу, исследует правовую природу договора на выполнение опытно-конструкторской работы, сравнивая его по определенным критериям с договором подряда, договором на оказание услуг, договором поставки, делает предложения о возможности принципиальной переработки имеющихся подходов к определению правовой природы договора на выполнение опытно-конструкторской работы.
The research is conducted in order to develop practical recommendations for the further development and improvement of various forms or sources of law, individual legal acts, norms and institutions. The main objective of the article is to highlight the problems of legal regulation in the theory of legal science and in law enforcement practice, the elaboration of legal mechanisms and recommendations for improving current legislation, overcoming legal gaps. The subject of the research is the norms of Russian legislation regulating relations in the field of development work, legal positions reflected in judicial practice. The object of research is public relations related to the legal institution of a contract for the performance of development work. These agreements belong to the group of consensual, retaliatory and mutual, that is, bilaterally binding agreements that are considered concluded from the moment the parties reach all essential conditions. This type of contract has the features characteristic of both contracts for the performance of work and contracts for the provision of services. The practice of using this legal institution shows the dualistic legal nature of contracts of this type and the need to separate it into a separate independent type of contract - a contract of design activities and special legal regulation. Today in Russia, the contract for the implementation of the R&D is considered adjacent to the contract for the performance of work and is regulated by Chapter 38 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this article is to study the main features of the contract for the performance of experimental design work, generalization or isolation of its general and specific features, analysis of various points of view on the issue of its legal nature, review of Russian legislation, as well as Russian judicial practice, their positive and negative aspects. Methodology. In order to best solve the task, a systematic approach was used in combination with a logical method. This allowed us to study the theoretical, factual and legal foundations of the phenomenon of the contract for the implementation of R&D. The comparative legal method was also used by comparing single legal concepts and processes, contrasting legal norms and identifying similarities and differences between them, using conclusions by analogy, relying on the similarity of the signs of the facts being studied, which will allow transferring the signs from one phenomenon being studied to another. Main results and scope of application. The article outlines the main features of the contract for the implementation of R&D, different points of view on the definition of the legal nature of this type of contract. The results of the study contribute to the identification of problems of legal regulation in the theory of legal science and in law enforcement practice, the elaboration of legal mechanisms and recommendations for improving current legislation, overcoming legal gaps.